The Lagos State Government has flagged-off the Eko Agro Mechanization Scheme, to enhance food production and food security that would help to lower prices of agricultural produces and provide a positive impact on the economic growth of the state.
The Commissioner of Agriculture for the state, Ms. Abisola Olusanya, stressed during the flagging-off that the project will result in the optimal use of more areas of land within a short period of time, which will also minimize land-grabbing activities, among others.
According to Olusanya, the scheme is known as Tractor-On-The-Go (TOG) and can be accessed via an app called TOGworld, which allows farmers to request tractors and their accompanying implements from the comfort of their farms using their smartphones.
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She explained that equipment including 20 tractors, 12 ploughs, 10 harrows, seven tipping trailers, two boom sprayers, and other materials were procured to kick-start the scheme, adding that the equipment will be stationed in the three strategic agrarian zones of the state in Badagry, Ikorodu, and Epe to serve different farming clusters.
“Lagos State, being the commercial and economic hub of Nigeria, is projected to attain a human population of 30 million persons by 2030. This represents a growth rate of 25 percent over the next seven years.
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“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 said
The Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mrs. Olatokunbo Emokpae, promised that the ministry will not relent in its efforts to ensure the emergent of a greater Lagos, through the deployment of technology and mechanization towards the promotion of food security.
