Senator Kola Balogun is of the strong view that human capital development can best be attained and sustained through agricultural development.
A disciple of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo school of thought on sustainable agricultural value chain, the senator representing Oyo South Senatorial District is of the conviction that the South-West, nay the entire country, can regain its past glory through agriculture.
Senator Kola Balogun, at any available forum, would not mince words in admonishing the teeming Nigerian populace, especially in the South-West where agriculture is the economic mainstay, to go back to the land.
For him, a youthful population that is well-trained in agricultural production and also versed in agricultural value chain would not only take away hunger from the land, but also serve as a fulcrum for the socio-economic development of the society.
The vice chairman, Senate Committee on Sports and Youths Development, has always been laying emphasis on, not only the art of food and cash crop production, but also harnessing the agricultural value chain as a means to having a sustainable economic growth.
Acting out his conviction, Senator Balogun, in 2021 alone, facilitated four programmes on Capacity-Building and Empowerment on Agricultural Entrepreneurship for hundreds of youths in the nine local government areas that made up Oyo South Senatorial District.
The programmes were carried out at the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (IAR&T), Moore Plantation, Ibadan, and also at Igboora, at various times within the year.
Beneficiaries of the four training and empowerment programmes were not only trained in agricultural production, but were also variously given substantial amount of money as start-up capital to promote their businesses in the agricultural value chain.
One of such training and empowerment programme was held at IAR&T from 19 to 21 January, 2021, during which 100 youths and farmers drawn from the senatorial district were taken through the rudiments of agricultural value chain by agricultural professionals of the institution.
