As part of his administration’s effort towards agriculture and socioeconomic development, Governor Abiola Ajimobi has commissioned the Friesland Campani Milk Collection in Saki.
The dairy development facility, which is the 5th in the state, will empower a total of 1,720 indigent farmers, 900 of who are women. “It will also make them important members of our growing economy,” Ajimobi said at the event.
According to Ajimobi, ”this commissioning plays an important role in our agricultural policy and its effects on the empowerment of our people especially women and the low-income earners is huge.
”Friesland Wamco have not only increased the capacity of some of Oyo State government agricultture and extension workers and the people of Saki, they have also partnered with our dairy farmers and the people in the value chain and have shown without a doubt that they are a full fledged integrated diary firm.
“On this project, over 900 women have been engaged and many more will still be engaged as they propose to reach a capacity of over 40,000 liters of milk daily and major increase in the value chain of dairy products in the society.
“In our aggressive pursuit of being the food basket of the south, creating job opportunities and empowerment of our people, I can say we are on the right track.
“This Saki Milk Collection Centre launched today, added to other 9 major agriculture-based developmental programmes of the Ajimobi-led Oyo state government, which include the 250, 000 hectares of farmland spread across Oyo state in the Integrated Organic Agricultural farming programme, the MoU with Dangote Company for grand rice farming, the 320 Tractors purchased to support industrialized agriculture, the 10, 000 metric ton silo built for grain production and storage in Oyo, and 5 others, all show that the determination to make Oyo state, in this particular case, Okeogun, a food basket of the nation, is gradually becoming a reality.
“Apart from boosting our economy, creating jobs and engaging more indigent farmers, at least, 10 per cent of the raw dairy needs for nutritional milk production will be sourced from this first-of-its-kind Saki Milk Collection Centre, an average of 12, 000 litres of milk per day, and we intend to do more.
Photo credit: Tolani Alli
