Ogun Signs MoU With French Dairy Firm

The Ogun State Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU with a French Company, Fan Milk Plc. on the production of raw materials for dairy products in the Country.

Speaking after the signing of the MoU in the presence of the French Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Jerome Pasquier at the Governor’s office, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, the State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun said agriculture remained the key sector and the Administration was working towards ensuring that the State becomes the food basket of the Nation.

“Agriculture is one of our key sectors. We have the land, the people and traditional farmers. Today, we have done so much to become number one in egg, poultry and cassava production in the Country and rice, kola nuts, cocoa and cotton production in the South West. Our fish production has become a model in the continent.

“We see ourselves becoming the food basket of this Nation, and this ties in nicely with President Buhari’s ‘Grow What You Eat and Eat What You Grow’ agenda and we have keyed into this,” he noted.

Governor Abiodun stated that the State has embarked on various initiatives aimed at reducing unemployment rate in the State by keying into the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN’s Anchor Borrowers and the FADAMA GUYS programmes, adding that more than 30,000 people have so far benefited from the programmes.

While pledging his Government’s support to the private sector, the Governor added, “we see this as an opportunity not just to further increase our contributions to food security, but particularly to allow us reduce the level of unemployment. We realised that agriculture is the easiest and cheapest way to reduce unemployment”.

He acknowledged the contribution of Fan Milk Plc. in its more than five decades of existence in the Country, expressing hope that the signing of the MoU would help the State in its human capacity building as well as job creation.

“This is how we want you to see this partnership. It has to go beyond what Fan Milk Plc. could get out of this. How much capacity building are we going to see with this? How many jobs are we going to see with this?

By Grace Tunji