Plans are underway as Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, will in November break the ground for a 3,000-hectare agribusiness industrial hub in Eruwa, Ibarapa East Local Government Area of the State.
The Director General of Oyo State Agribusiness Development Agency, Dr. Debo Akande, disclosed this in an exclusive chat with The PUNCH.
The development came in response to questions about whether the government intended to have, across other zones of the state, a replica of the Fashola Agribusiness Industrial Hub, located in the Oyo zone.
While crossing the Ts and dotting the Is ahead of the groundbreaking ceremony, Akande said he had extracted assurances of investors to dominate the Eruwa hub for agric purposes.
At 3,000 hectares, the planned expanse for the Eruwa agribusiness hub will be three times larger than the Fashola hub, which is 1,000 hectares.
He said, “We are going to be breaking the ground for another agribusiness industrial hub next month. It will happen in Eruwa. It is 3,000 hectares and will be three times the size of Fashola; it will be called Eruwa Agribusiness Industrial Hub.”
When questioned about the impact of Fashola farms on neighbouring communities, the OYSADA DG argued that products from the farm were used locally and not exported.
He held that people’s reservations were not unconnected with the thinking that goods from the farm were not put up for sale on open stalls.
He argued that products from the Fashola hub largely remained within the shores of the nation, even if they were found available at shopping malls and big businesses.
Akande also downplayed notions that the Fashola agribusiness hub should deal with the challenges in the agricultural sector of the state, as he said the hub was meant to be a model for other states to adopt.
The Ijaye business hub is scheduled to be the next point of call for the state government upon completion of the Eruwa agribusiness hub.
