Oyo State governor, Engineer ‘Seyi Makinde, has assured that farm estate projects will stem rural-urban migration in the state.
He gave the assurance when he carried out an on-the-spot-assessment of Fashola Farm Estate, Oyo Sugarcane Processor Limited and Iseyin-Ogbomoso-Fapote Road in Oyo and Iseyin, respectively.
Speaking shortly after touring the 1200 hectare Fashola Farm Estate located in Oyo West Local Government Area, he expressed satisfaction on the level of work done.
The governor further assured that residents of the community would soon begin to feel the economic impact of the project.
He enjoined residents of the state to key into the agro-business policy of his administration.
The governor said in a release by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Sulaimon Olanrewaju: “Well, you have seen the level of activities here currently and I can say I am satisfied.
“I look forward to when the real business, value extraction will start, where you have trucks going in and out with produce from this farm, and the time is very near.
“I want to tell the people that opportunities are being created and they should take advantage of the positive economic activities going on here and key into it because that is what we want to do.”
He said the project was being driven by Private Public Partnership (PPP) arrangement and assured that his administration would continue to create an enabling an environment for businesses to thrive.
“I have mentioned it several times that the only business of the government is to create an enabling environment for businesses to thrive.
“So, here, it is not government that is doing this. We are only creating a conducive environment for private businesses and the result is what we are seeing,” he added.
The governor submitted that the farm estate project cum brown sugarcane processor company would play a significant role in reducing rural-urban migration.
“We don’t want people moving from the rural areas to urban centres. Now, you can see that facilities are being built around here and, quite honestly, I don’t feel like going back to Ibadan,” he said.
Ongoing projects on the site include farm houses, farmers lodges, machinery service center, fan milk industry and road network, among others.
Also on the farm are the young farmers who were trained in Nassarawa State by the Makinde-led administration under the Youth Entrepreneurship Agribusiness Programe (YEAP).
