Sanwo-Olu gave the assurance yesterday at the flag-off of distribution of agricultural productive assets and inputs under the 2021 Agricultural Value Chains Enterprise Activation Programme where over 3000 agripreneurs were empowered.

He said breaking the bond of dependency on foreign countries and states for food supplies, was in line with his administration’s THEMES agenda for job and wealth creation as well as food sufficiency. Sanwo-Olu noted that the empowerment scheme was a demonstration of the development, expansion, and growth of agriculture in Lagos by providing tools, deploying innovation, and creativity that would make it easier for all farmers to grow high-quality crops thereby raising their inputs to feed Lagosians as well as Nigerians.

     The governor said his government was putting in place various interventions which included a whole sales agriculture hub, urging farmers, youths, and beneficiaries to work hard to nurture their businesses to maturity by building sustainable wealth. “We have emerged wiser and more determined to succeed in creating and nurturing a viable agribusiness sector in Lagos State. We may be Nigeria’s smallest State by landmass, lacking the large tracts of land available to others, but we will not allow that to stand in the way of our vision.

     “We will maximize the little we have, while also deploying the innovative and entrepreneurial spirit we are known for, to create new opportunities to feed ourselves and feed Nigeria and create economic growth and prosperity through agriculture”, he said. The agriculture commissioner, Abisola Olusanya, said 70 percent of the beneficiaries of the program were youths and women chosen from the Lagos Agripreneurship Program (LAP), Agric YES program, and Value chain associations for better monitoring as well as impact assessment after support is given.