The Lagos State Government has flagged-off the Eko Agro Mechanisation Scheme, to enhance food production and food security in the state. With this initiative, over 3,000 farmers with the ability to efficiently and smoothly prepare over 9,000 hectares of land would be provided mechanisation access.

The Commissioner for Agriculture, Ms Abisola Olusanya, who flagged-off the initiative, said it would lead to increased food production, which should help lower prices and afford Lagosians a higher disposable income; and provision of a positive impact on the economic growth of the state by creating a means of livelihood for the unemployed.

She said: “The job creation multiplier effect will easily reach 9,000 Lagosians and lastly, optimal use of more areas of land within a short period of time, which will also minimise land-grabbing activities, amongst others.

“Lagos State being the commercial and economic hub of Nigeria is projected to attain a human population of 30 million persons by Y2030. This represents a growth of 25 per cent over the next seven years.  

“This rapid growth in population, calls for increased efforts to expand agricultural production to meet the consequent demand for food. Towards this end, the ministry developed a five year Agricultural and Food Systems Road Map (2021-2025) in 2021 to scale local food production from the present 20 per cent of domestic food requirement to 40 per cent over the next five years.”

Olusanya noted that the attainment of the vision, which requires concerted efforts from public, private and multilateral/donor organisations in developing food production activities in the state, is predicated on a timely resolution of challenges confronting agriculture such as farm mechanisation, which is responsible for the limited growth experienced within the agricultural space.

“Towards this end, the ministry established the Tractor Hiring Unit (THU) in the 1970s to facilitate access to agricultural machineries by farmers across the state for land preparation, planting, harvesting and agro-processing activities. This was designed to reduce cost of land preparation and tractorisation, which greatly limited the hectarage of land under cultivation.

“The need to expand on the achievements of the THU scheme and introduce technology in the deployment of tractors and other equipment for farmers to exponentially increase food production brought about the re-engineering of the erstwhile THU thus giving rise to the introduction of Eko-Agro Mechanisation project.” 

According to her, the approach to farm mechanisation called Tractor–On–The-Go (TOG) can be accessed through an application known as TOGworld “and is available for download on Google Playstore and IOS Store. Farmers from the comfort of their farms now have the opportunity of requesting for tractors and its accompanying implements in a way similar to the taxi hailing services via a Smartphone.

“As such, they now have access to agricultural machineries without being physically present at the tractor centres, which makes the process both seamless and transparent.

“20 tractors, 12 ploughs, 10 harrows, seven tipping trailers two boom sprayers and other equipment were procured to kick-start the scheme.  These shall be stationed in the three strategic agrarian zones of the state – Badagry, Ikorodu and Epe and would serve different farming clusters.

“The Badagry zone will serve these clusters – Avia, Igborosun, Gayingbo, Gberefu, Ajara, Yafin, Itoga, Iworo, Ajido, Mowo. etc.
Ikorodu zone will serve Agbowa, Imota, Odogunyan, Gberigbe, Igbalu, Ijede, Erikorodo etc and Epe zone will serve Araga, Igboye, Igbodu, Itoikin, Ejinrin etc.”

In her welcome address, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mrs. Olatokunbo Emokpae, said the primary goal of the scheme is to ensure unfettered access to farm mechanisation services, especially for smallholder farmers via a cost-friendly approach.

She promised that as a ministry, it would not relent in its efforts to ensure the vision for a greater Lagos is achieved through the deployment of technology and mechanisation towards the promotion of food security.