Oyebanji seeks swift FG action on livestock project
Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, has called on the Federal Government to expedite action on the implementation of the Livestock Productivity and Resilient Support Project.
Oyebanji said this was to “improve livestock productivity, resilience and commercialisation of selected value chain as well as strengthen the country’s capacity to respond to crisis and emergency”.
The governor spoke in Ado Ekiti, the state capital on Saturday while hosting the management team of L-PRES led by the National Coordinator, Sanusi Abubakar, and the World Bank L-PRES task team leader, Dr Emmanuel Saani.
He restated his administration’s commitment to harnessing every opportunity to revolutionize the agricultural sector for sustainable development and explore enduring partnerships that would enhance productivity and resilience in the state.
Oyebanji, who stressed the importance of L-PRES in addressing food security challenges and boosting the agricultural economy, said, “Agric business is time bound. The Federal Government needs to fastrack its protocols at ensuring the delivery of its dividend plan in the livestock sector of Ekiti State”.
The governor said that his administration had taken proactive steps to rejig the agriculture sector with the establishment of broilers centres in three locations of the state while plans were underway to attract partners in the state for optimal business and processing.
He said, “We are delighted about the opportunities that L-PRES is going to offer our people because it aligns with the pillars of our administration. Agriculture and food security are major pillars of our administration, and livestock development is extremely key.
“The National Coordinator mentioned the issue of counterpart funds. I can assure you we will not fail in our obligations to get things done.
“But my concern is the slow pace of implementation. I know there are processes and protocols that you have to go through but be mindful of time because agric business most of the time is time-bound. When we delay unnecessarily, we will not have value for money.”
Oyebanji added that livestock production was a critical sector that could create jobs and generate revenue for the state and the country at large.
L-PRES National Coordinator, Abubakar, who said that the teams were in the state on a facility tour of the livestock development centre in Erifun and Abbaitior at Iworoko Road in Ado Ekiti, reiterated the Federal Government’s readiness, through the L-PRES project, to upscale the production of broiler in the state and build a new abattoir with modern equipment.
The state Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Ebenezer Boluwade, said that the project would, in no small measure, develop the value chain and strengthen agricultural service in the state
