Experts in Agribusiness converge on Eruwa town hall on Saturday for the second edition of Eruwa Agricultural Summit with the theme “Agribusiness and the Challenges of Agricultural Environment”.
The event which had in attendance the Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Mr Seun Fakorede was organized by Neyochin Events and Entertainment in collaboration with Eruwa Youth Forum.
While delivering his paper, Mr Adebiyi Adedayo, the Head, Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) in Oyo state said no government has invested in Agribusiness than the Buhari-led administration. He lamented that majority of the Federal Government Agriculture programs like the Anchor Borrowers’ Program and others are very useful and active in the North than the Southwest due to the attitude of people in the Southwest.
Adebayo said the habit of not returning loan, non usage of hybrid which will enhance productivity are some of the things affecting Agribusiness in Southwest.
He identified the need for people in the Southwest to change their orientation, so opportunities and benefits can be domiciled in the region.
Also speaking, a Professor of Entomology and Applied Ecology, Professor Adebayo Omoleye who spoke on the topic “Agro Environment and the menace of new pests and diseases” said government has not done enough especially in pest management.
Omoleye said pests should be managed to reduce their population and not wiped out totally adding that pests are also beneficial to the ecosystem. He identified killer herdsmen as pests who are causing serious damage to the Agribusiness.
He identified numerous ways of controlling pests. Some of which were chemical, biological, traditional and integrated controls. He said integrated control method can be used to control killer herdsmen.
Another speaker, Prof S. B. Fasoyiro spoke on “Agriculture value addition: Panacea for wastage and losses for good return”
Fasoyiro decried the level of wastage of farm produce adding that one third of farm produce is lost between harvest and consumption.
She emphasised on the need to convert farm produce for future use.
Meanwhile, at the sideline of the event, awards were given to the 3 outstanding students and best school in the last year’s West African Examination Council (WAEC) in Ibarapa East local government area.
The award which was sponsored by the office of the Speaker of the Oyo state House of Assembly, Rt Hon Adebo Ogundoyin was given to the winners by the Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Mr Seun Fakorede.
The winners included Ogungbenro Blessing Opeyemi; Olabisi Gideon Oluwafemi; Ayoola Peter Adewale while Baptist Model High School, Eruwa emerged the best school.
While speaking with insideoyo.com, the organiser of the summit, Mr Aborode Taofeeq Oyeniyi, the Special Assistant to the Oyo State House of Assembly Speaker on Youth said the summit was aimed at encouraging farmers and to promote improvement in the quality of life of persons living in Eruwa.
His words: “The Eruwa Agriculture Summit is a nonpartisan, grassroots, volunteer based programme whose primary objective is to encourage an awareness of agriculture and promote improvements in the quality of life of persons living in Eruwa as an agricultural community.
“Eruwa Agriculture Summit aims to bring together academic scientists, researchers, research scholars, farmers and potentials farmers to exchange and share their experience and research results on all aspect of Agriculture. It also provides a platform for policy makers, top managers, researchers, farmers and educators to present and discuss the most recent innovations, trends and concerns as well as practical challenges encountered and solutions adopted in the fields of Agriculture.”
Oyeniyi added that the second edition will be followed up with pilot schemes.
He said: “The involvement of secondary school students in the second edition makes it better than the first edition. Also, this second edition has more speakers who have been round the agric world and Agric experts with deep experience and expertise. Moreover, this second edition will be followed up with pilot schemes of 3 aspects of Agriculture, crops planting, animal rearing and agro processing. It wont stop inside the hall.”
He added that Agribusiness will improve lifestyle of youths and reduce crime rate.
“Agribusiness is the next big thing in Nigeria. As much as it will increase the economy of Eruwa, Oyo State and Nigeria at large, it will also create employment for the youth
“This will further improve lifestyle of youths and reduce crime rate. Our population is increasing everyday and we need to produce food to contain the population growth, youths are the power of the society not only when it comes to election but also when it comes to driving the economy.”
