NGO boosts cassava processing in Ogun

Apparently heeding the call of government for private sector’s
participation in food production, a non-governmental organisation,
Grassroots Human Security Project (GHSP) is set to inaugurate a
machine that will process two tones of cassava daily in Ogun State.

The project which is in conjunction with Kudirat Initiative for
Democracy (KIND) is to boost cassava production in the State through
improved mechanization.

The Coordinator of GHSP, Mr Olufemi Odebiyi, who made this known
during an inspection of the factory site in Erinpa Community, Iju
Local Council Development Area of the State, said the initiative was
aimed towards harnessing the full potentials of the value chain
process offered by cassava production for socio-economic development
of the State.

Odebiyi said the project would further enhance food sufficiency in
line with the cardinal programme of the Senator Ibikunle Amosun – led
administration.

According to the coordinator, ‘’the State government has done its best
by ensuring food security and food sufficiency across the three
Senatorial Districts of the State. The cassava processing machine that
would process two tones of cassava on daily basis would in no small
measure help in harnessing the full potential of the agricultural
value chain, thereby boosting the socio-economic stance of the State.

This factory, when inaugurated will have ripple effects on the
commerce of the Erinpa locality and the State as a whole.’’
Speaking with the Zonal Information Officer, the representative of the
Uplifting Market Women Foundation, Mrs. Dara Owoyele, commended the
partnership, pointing out that market women have a ready and huge
market for cassava flour.

In his remarks, the Erinpa Community Leader, Chief Tunji Olaifa,
commended the State government for ensuring food sufficiency and
security despite the economic realities in the nation as well as the
timely intervention of the present administration in the crisis
between herdsmen and the farmers which had restored peace to the Yewa
axis.

While charging farmers on the need to intensify the cultivation of
cassava, Olaifa said their individual efforts would make raw materials
available in large quantity for the factories.