The government of Ondo State has started to address one of the major problems of agricultural development in the country, which has to do with the statistics of farmers, their location and the size of their farms. Towards this end, the state government has commenced registration of farmers across its 18 local government areas. This, it said, was to boost food production and reshape the future of agriculture. The government gets it right,because the statistics which will be gotten from the exercise will be used to distribute farm inputs, which hitherto had been hijacked by persons who masquerade as farmers and end up selling inputs given by the government either free or at subsidised rates to the intended farmers in the first instance.
The Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Agriculture and Agric-Business, Mr. Wemimo Akinsola, said the registration aims to build a comprehensive database of farmers.The database will enable the government to provide direct support and enhance food security through structured, data-driven agricultural planning. Akinsola emphasised that the registration is open to all farmers, regardless of political affiliation or financial status. That assurance was equally necessary because there have been reports in the past when schemes like this were hijacked by political machineries who use it for patronage, conscious that it would eventually be used for support. The government did not stop at that, it also took a decision to ensure that otherwise busy farmers do not give up on the scheme as a result of unnecessary bottlenecks. So, it said that registration can be done via telephone, office visit, or local government registration centers.
The initiative has already begun with cocoa farmers under the state’s Cocoa Revolution Initiative and will extend to maize and cassava farmers later. The government also plans to establish tractor units in each senatorial district to assist farmers during the planting season.