Nigeria's Osun State governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has described the notion that Osun is a civil servants state as a misnomer that must be resisted by all well-meaning Osun indigenes.
The Governor while signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on behalf of the state government and an American based equipment leasing and beef rearing company stated that Osun is an agrarian state.
In the MOU, Osun is willing to partner with JIL farms and Equipment Limited to develop a 1,500 hectare Ranch under the O-BEEF and O-REAP programme for the breeding and development of 2,500 foundation breeding cattle herd which will include the Tuli and Boran species.
JIL Farms possesses the ability to finance, operate and maintain the agricultural land into ranches and farmland in such a manner as to maintain the infrastructure and develop additional farmlands for production of livestock and crops.
The partnership will develop a 10,000-head capacity feedlot centre; construct a feed mill for processed grains, a meat processing plant, and a packing plant for vegetables; develop a youth training centre, a livestock and farming out-grower scheme, and a retreat centre for seminars and trainings.
Aregbesola noted that it will be foolhardy for anybody to believe that Osun will survive with what it receives monthly from the Federal allocation which at its best ever was N5 billion, saying what has been sustaining the state is agriculture.
According to Aregbesola, “although I am no longer excited by signing of MOU because most of it are impressive, most of it are just ceremonies without action thereafter, but with the commitment and drive with which you have shown, I look forward to a better days ahead.
“I am very hopeful of a fantastic result from this collaboration, I have confidence in what the supervisory legal department and our own have done. I hope that activities will commence by January, we will put the resources of the state behind this. I look forward to a celebration of a successful venture,” the Governor stressed.
He enjoined the state Ministry of Agriculture to support the present administration in its effort to make the state realize its potentials as an agrarian state.
The Governor held that the time has come for everybody in the state to turn to agriculture, adding that with the development of agriculture and farming, there will be plenty in the land.
Earlier, Director JIL equipment leasing and beef rearing Company, Dr. Jenny Caringham pointed out that his company will bring change into livestock farming in Osun.
He added that the team will also be going into total agriculture with the latest available technologies that will in no distant time improve employment opportunity for youths in the state.
Caringham commended Governor Aregbesola for taking to agriculture for the development of the state, stressing that his team will give everything it takes to improve abattoirs and beef production in Osun.
He assured of visibility of the project within 30 days of its commencement of operation in Osun and that by the end of the first quarter of 2016, there will be a resort centre that will enhance tourism.
“I want to use this occasion to thank the state for this opportunity, we will not let you down, by January, we will be here to start fully, we are not importing anything because we have everything in Nigeria”.
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