IleriOluwa Development Initiative Compliments My Administration’s Goal of Providing Food security – Oyetola

By Idris Idowu

Governor of the State of Osun, Mr Adegboyega Oyetola, has said the IleriOluwa Development Initiative compliments his administration’s goal of providing food security and sufficiency in the state.

Governor Oyetola said this on Tuesday at an empowerment programme organised by IDI in Ede.

The IDI, a Non Governmental Organisation owned by the wife of the Governor, Mrs Kafayat Oyetola.

In the phase II of its empowerment programme, IDI empowered over 500 women on agriculture with 1,000 day-old chicks, 1,000 cashew seedlings, 1,000 cocoa seedlings and over 200 bundles of cassava.

While speaking at the programme, Governor Oyetola, commended his wife and other members of the initiative for their effort on empowering women and banishing hunger and poverty in the state.

“The Governor said: “I owe loads of appreciation to the Initiative for its sustained interest in and support for our administration. Indeed, the initiative has a unique place in the Development Agenda of our administration whise goal is to provide adequate, quality and equitable service to our people across the State.

“I must not forget to mention that this initiative is a welcome addition to the efforts of the First Lady to empower women and girls and make them productive members of the society.

“Today’s initiative – presentation of vegetable seeds, cassava stem, day-old chicks and other cash crops to women in rural communities at her Women in Agriculture Empowerment, is unique in many respects:

“One, it complements the goal of our administration to provide food security and food sufficiency. Two, it empowers women, creates jobs for them and makes them critical parts of our social economic development programme.

“Three, it banishes hunger and poverty at the family level across the State as every attempt at empowering women agriculturally, especially across the State, is targeted at feeding the State.

“Four, coming at a time when there are cries over looming food scarcity as a result of insecurity, today’s event is a way of supporting the plan of our administration to get Osun out of the imminent food scarcity net.

“Five, the initiative is also a boost to the Federal Government’s Small and Medium Enterprises, which our administration has imbibed and employed to empower the people.

“Six, it has set the pace for other groups to join government to empower the people and deliver prosperity to the people.”

In her speech , the Wife of the Governor, Mrs Kafayat Oyetola, who is the President of the initiative, expressed her delight on the effort and achievements right from the first phase of the initiative which took place in 2019.

She said: “I am greatly delighted about this day, I’m happy we can reach out today to our women who engage in agriculture with vital and necessary support they need.

“This is the second phase of the Ilerioluwa Development Initiative agricultural programme scheme

“The programmes is designed to assist low income female farmers periodically with necessary imprints that will enhance productivity in their farms, increase their yields and ensure food security for their families .

“The First phase of this programmes was held in January 2019, I am happy to report here that the beneficiaries in that phase reported back tremendously positive impact of the IDI agricultural scheme intervention.

“All efforts to have the second phase in 2020 were blighted by the unexpected explosion of the Coronavirus pandemic across the globe.”

She urged all women across the state to intensify their prayers to God on insecurity and also be vigilante in their various community.