Oyo lawmaker to seek BOI loan to support mechanised farming.

• Olumide Ojerinde, Member representing Irepo/Olorunsogo/Orelope constituency in the House of Representatives, said he would soon secure Bank of Industry (BOI) loan to boost mechanized farming in the area.

Ojerinde disclosed this in Igbeti, Olorunsogo Local Government Area of Oyo State during his interaction with farmers in the constituency.

He promised to invest in the agricultural sector to attain food security.

“My aspirations to touch lives is not negotiable. Though we have different responsibilities but as a federal lawmaker elected to represent you, I remain committed and accountable to you in the pursuit of our shared goal.

“Today, our major economic activities across our villages, towns and cities is agriculture which is still at subsistence level,” Ojerinde said.

The lawmaker said that his team had also held a technical sessions and consultations with many organizations on the need to invest in the area.

Ojerinde urged the farmers to offer clear and honest discussion on the direction to take in unlocking the potential agricultural products the area could trade-off.

“Over the coming days, we shall embark on massive community-based poverty eradication programmes in this federal constituency.

“We will share experiences, learn from each other, pool our efforts, build partnerships and initiate bill that will move us forward as good people of this constituency,” he said.

He advised farmers on cassava, soya beans and yam cultivation, saying that agricultural products processing companies had shown much interest in these crops than others.

“Experts from the industries shall come for proper briefing and orientation. They are off – taker companies that would create market for the produce,” he said.

Participants at the forum enumerated major challenges facing commercial farming in the area.

The challenges, according to them, were lack of access to land, storage facilities and farm inputs as well as incessant cattle grazing on the farms, which Ojerinde promised to address in collaboration with relevant stakeholders.