Citrus farmers in Ekiti State have been advised to form cooperative society to enable them expand their farming activities. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina gave the advice at a meeting of the Federal Government Agriculture Transformation Team with Officials of the Ekiti State Ministry of Agriculture and Citrus farmers in Ado Ekiti. Dr. Adesina who was represented by the Consultant on Horticulture Value Chain Development from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Abuja, Mr. Okwudili John, said forming cooperative society would enhance their chances to access soft loans that would boost their economic base and invariably their output.
The Minister, who noted that the nutritional value derivable from citrus fruits cannot be under estimated, promised to provide good storage facilities for the produce including specialised fertilizer, improved seedling and Agro Chemicals to avoid wastage. He urged them to register their societies in order to maximally benefit from government’s intervention programmes.
The Minister who promised to assist the State Government on its Agriculture Transformation Agenda called on Local Government Councils in Ekiti State to allocate more lands for the production of citrus fruits, saying that the patronage of the fruits was higher than any other one. He also promised to collaborate with Ekiti State Government in marketing their products. In his reaction, the Ekiti State Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mr. Babajide Arowosafe urged farmers to embrace the value chain programme of the Federal and State Governments.
The Commissioner who was represented by the Director of Tree Crops in the Ekiti State Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mr. Rufus Arabi, said the two tiers of Government has fulfilled most of the promises made to transform the agriculture sector.
Last modified: November 22, 2012
