The Director-General of the Oyo State Agribusiness Development Agency (OYSADA), Debo Akande, has announced that the state has attracted about N46.6 billion in agribusiness investments.
Speaking at the ongoing Omituntun 2.0 Inter-Ministerial Briefing at the Governor’s Office, Secretariat, Ibadan, Akande, who is also the Executive Adviser to Governor Seyi Makinde on Agribusiness and International Cooperation, said the administration’s vision to expand the state’s economy through agribusiness has yielded significant results.
He revealed that the state has accessed nearly $170 million in agribusiness and international development funding, and has attracted about 14 large processing companies into the sector. He added that these achievements include mobilising international development resources, establishing industrial hubs, improving roads and rural security, and developing policies and legal frameworks.
Akande highlighted that the government’s efforts have supported smallholder farmers, scaled up medium-sized agribusinesses, empowered youths and women, boosted value addition, and increased livestock productivity and its value chain.
He noted that the state has trained 5,020 youths in various agribusiness areas, with about 1,000 of them set to benefit from a N1.5 billion Oyo State Government/FCMB support initiative in the coming weeks.
Additionally, he said the state has supported 46,000 smallholder farmers through OYSADA, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the Agric-Credit Corporation of Oyo State. Road construction and ongoing feeder road projects have also boosted agribusiness operations.
Akande spotlighted the Fasola Agribusiness Hub, Nigeria’s first Agricultural Transformation Centre, which has attracted about N17 billion in investments and cultivated 950 hectares so far.
“Fourteen new agribusinesses operate at Fasola, covering crop production, processing, and equipment leasing. Just four companies alone have cultivated 950 hectares. This is true agribusiness — companies paying the state for facility use and investing their own resources,” he said.
He added that greenhouse cultivation at Fasola enables year-round tomato production, regardless of weather conditions, with plans to replicate this model in other parts of the state.
He also disclosed that the state, with support from the African Development Bank, has awarded a contract for a mega agribusiness hub at Ijaiye. The hub will host over 40 medium and large industries — significantly larger than Fasola.
Akande emphasised that the state’s agribusiness strategy aims to boost local food production, stabilise prices, support exports, and reduce dependence on external food sources.
“If we expand this approach and have 1,000 greenhouses, imagine the volume of tomatoes we’ll produce year-round — not just for consumption but for processing, too. Fasola is a pilot to prove what’s possible, and more centres like it will soon emerge across the state,” he added.
ADEOLA KUNLE
