Oyo Govt Embarks on Ministerial Press Briefing to Showcase Achievements

Welcome Address Delivered by Dr Sulaimon Olanrewaju, Chief Press Secretary to Oyo State Governor, at the Opening Session of the 2025 Ministerial Press Briefing, Held on June 19, 2025, at the Governor’s Briefing Room, Oyo State Secretariat, Ibadan.

In 2023, His Excellency, Governor Seyi Makinde canvassed for the votes of Oyo State people, making certain promises as documented in the Oyo State Roadmap for Sustainable Development 2023-2027. 

One sentence summary of the document is “Taking the People of Oyo State from Poverty to Prosperity.” His Excellency was elected because the people believed not just in the promises but also in his capacity to deliver on those promises. 

Two years after, is the state closer to poverty or prosperity? Two years after, are the people better off or worse off? These media engagements will provide answers to these questions. 

You may want to ask, why Commissioners and heads of Agencies and Departments the vision of a leader is the mission of his team members. When a leader casts a vision, his team members catch the mission. 

The vision of Taking the People of Oyo State from Poverty to Prosperity is implemented by the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) through their various interventions. 

In other words, the MDAs are the channels through which the promises made by His Excellency are actualized. So, it is apposite that the MDAs give an account of their stewardship.

These engagements will afford the Honourable Commissioners and Heads of Government Agencies and Departments the opportunity to give an account of their service to the people of Oyo State and explain how the administration’s activities are improving the lives of citizens. 

They will also be able to highlight government policies, plans, programmes and progress as well as address misinformation and disinformation. 

It is the belief of the Governor’s Media Unit that these engagements will foster better government-people relationship and accelerate the realisation of the desired sustainable development since both parties will be on the same page with respect to government’s plans and projections.

Let me also use this opportunity  to appreciate my Constituency, the Media, for its total support for the Administration since its inception, while also asking that you give this engagement the necessary coverage and mileage.

So, I welcome you to this 10-day journey, which we hope will project the government to the people and pull the people to the government.

I thank you for your attention.

PRESS BRIEFING ON KEY ACHIEVEMENTS AND IMPACT REPORT OF THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT, BY THE HONOURABLE COMMISSIONER, BARRISTER OLASUNKANMI OLALEYE, ON THURSDAY, 19TH JUNE, 2025.

Distinguished members of the press, stakeholders, and fellow citizens of Oyo State, I stand before you today with immense pride and gratitude to present the remarkable achievements of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. These accomplishments would not have been possible without the unwavering support, visionary leadership, and agricultural transformation agenda of His Excellency, Engr Oluseyi Makinde FNSE, DSC, GSSRS, the Executive Governor of Oyo State, whose commitment to making Oyo State the food basket of Nigeria continues to drive our every initiative.

Under the Governor’s progressive leadership and his administration’s dedication to agricultural excellence, our Ministry has recorded unprecedented successes across all sectors of agricultural development. The Governor’s policy direction, financial support, and political will have created an enabling environment that has allowed us to implement transformative programs that are directly impacting the lives of our farmers and rural communities.

I wish to express our profound appreciation to His Excellency for his consistent support and to acknowledge the collective efforts of our dedicated staff, development partners, farmers, and all stakeholders whose collaboration has made these achievements possible. The successes we celebrate today are a testament to what is achievable when leadership vision meets professional dedication and community participation.

The following report highlights our key accomplishments across veterinary services, rural development, extension services, capacity building, and infrastructure development – all contributing to Oyo State’s emergence as a leading agricultural hub in Nigeria.

1.VETERINARY SERVICES: Protecting Livestock and Public Health

• Our veterinary services have demonstrated exceptional commitment to livestock health protection through our strategic vaccination program. We have successfully vaccinated 95,948 cattle against Anthrax and Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP), representing 80% progress toward our ambitious target of 120,000 cattle. This proactive approach has significantly reduced livestock mortality rates and protected farmers’ investments while safeguarding public health through the prevention of zoonotic diseases.
• Our meat inspection services have maintained the highest standards of food safety across Oyo State. Our dedicated team conducted comprehensive inspections of 3,731,526 cattle, 10,322,469 sheep and goats, 9,590 pigs, and an impressive 16,082,353 birds destined for human consumption. This massive undertaking ensures that only safe, wholesome meat products reach consumers’ tables, protecting public health and maintaining confidence in our food supply chain.

2 Regulatory Framework Development
We have strengthened the agricultural sector through the development of crucial regulatory frameworks, including comprehensive guidelines and regulations for hatchery operations in Oyo State, standard operating procedures for poultry processors, and the Oyo State Trade Cattle, Sheep and Goats Law with detailed SOPs for livestock dealers. These regulations provide clear operational standards that enhance productivity while ensuring animal welfare and consumer protection.

3 RURAL DEVELOPMENT

(a) Strategic Road Construction Under RAAMP
Our rural infrastructure development programme continues to transform agricultural communities through strategic road construction projects totalling 87.53 kilometres across multiple local governments;

• FRSC-Okudi-Oyada road: 6.82 Km in ATISBO LG
• Market -Illa junction:4.37 Km in Oriire LG
• Adebayo Alata-Obembe, Aba Oje Road:8.85 km in Oluyole LG.
• Oloko-oyo Okere dam road: 21.96Km in Iseyin LG
• Fasola Farm Settlement Road:8.43 km in Oyo West LG. *Alako-Idi-iya-Batake-Olowa Farm settlement road: 37.1 km. b.) Upgrading of three rural markets: We are upgrading three critical rural markets to enhance agricultural trade
• Oja-Agbe Market, Iseyin, Iseyin Local Government
• Aare Alasa Market, Akanran, Ona-Ara local Government
• Oja Oba Market, Agbejoda Igboora, Ibarapa Central Local Government. These upgrades will provide modern facilities that reduce post-harvest losses and improve farmers’ market access.

4 Tractorization Subsidy Program
Our mechanization support program has achieved remarkable success, with 1,487 farmers benefiting from 50% tractorization subsidies in 2024, resulting in 6,090 acres of farmland being ploughed.The momentum continues into 2025, with 13,077.10 acres already ploughed for 2,827 farmers as of June 10th, 2025, as we work toward our ambitious target of 120,000 acres for the year.

5.EXTENSION SERVICES: Bridging Knowledge Gaps

• Enhanced Mobility and Training -We provided 15 motorcycles to Extension Officers, dramatically improving their ability to reach farmers in remote areas.
• Additionally, we conducted comprehensive training for both farmers and Extension Officers on the 2025 Seasonal Climate Prediction by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, ensuring climate-informed agricultural decision-making.

6.Soil Health Initiative
Our soil testing programme in collaboration with OCP AFRICA, covered 100 communities across all 28 agrarian local government areas, providing crucial soil fertility status information. This data-driven approach enabled us to train 22,370 farmers on appropriate responses to soil challenges, optimizing fertilizer use and crop productivity.

7.HUMAN RESOURCE STRENGTHENING
We significantly strengthened our technical capacity through the recruitment of 20 veterinary doctors and 141 agricultural officers across various cadres, ensuring adequate professional support for our expanding programs and services.

8.INPUT DISTRIBUTION TO SUPPORT DIVERSE AGRICULTURAL ENTERPRISES

*Crop Production Support-Our comprehensive input distribution program reached thousands of farmers: soybean seeds to 920 farmers, maize seeds to 3,541 farmers, cassava stems to 1,269 farmers (covering 47,587.5 acres with potential to produce 214,143.75 tons of cassava tubers), knapsack sprayers to 1,980 farmers, and herbicides and pesticides to 2,500 farmers.

Livestock and Aquaculture Support*
We distributed quality inputs to diverse livestock farmers: 1,150 fish farmers received 3 bags each of 15kg quality fish feed; 2,536 cattle, sheep, and goat farmers received nutritional supplements including 253,600kg of wheat offal, brewery dried grains, salt licks, and disinfectants; 3,740 poultry farmers received 8 bags of 50kg maize grains each; and 1,028 pig farmers received palm kernel cake and disinfectants.

Cassava Value Chain Development
Our massive distribution of 65,000 bundles of cassava stems to 1,269 farmers ,demonstrates our commitment to food security, with projections showing potential production of 214,143.75 tons of cassava tubers from 47,587.5 acres of newly planted farmland.

9 Microfinance Support
We provided microloans to 3,501 smallholder farmers with soft loans ranging from ₦50,000 to ₦800,000 per beneficiary, enabling farmers to expand their operations and improve their livelihoods.

10 Comprehensive Training Programmes
Our capacity building initiatives reached 3,830 individuals across various agricultural enterprises:

• 660 participants in specialized mushroom cultivation training
• 300 farm settlers in climate-smart agriculture and high-value crop production
• 140 participants in beekeeping empowerment
• 100 people in entrepreneurial practices for shea business
• 90 locust bean processors in value addition techniques
• 660 cattle farmers in pasture management and artificial insemination
• 660 participants in fisheries and value addition
• 380 participants in animal health and public health importance
• 340 participants in pest control and warehouse management
• 250 youths in agro-input dealerships and Good Agricultural Practices
• 250 retired and soon-to-retire civil servants in agricultural practices and micro-livestock management

11 Youth Agricultural Incubation
We trained 62 rural farmers in modern agricultural practices at the Oyo State-IITA Youth Agribusiness Incubation Centre in Aawe, providing them with both knowledge and land allocation for practical application.

12.INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT FOR SERVICE DELIVERY

Farm Service Centres Establishment
We secured approval to establish nine Farm Service Centres across agricultural zones statewide and commenced renovation of eight strategic facilities:

• Fertilizer Store, OYSADA Regional Office Oyo
• OYSADA Training Centre, Igboole
• Former AISU Building, Olorunda
• OYSADA Farm Estate Store, Akufo Camp
• OYSAISU Fertilizer Store, Oja-Oba, Igboora
• Agricultural Input Supply Unit Fertilizer Store, Saki
• OYSAISU Fertilizer Store, Igbeti
• OYSADA Training Centre, Iseyin

Additionally, we are renovating the Produce Department office at Onireke for the official launch of the Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI).
13.COLLABORATIONS ON AGRICULTURAL TRAINING PROGRAMMES

(a). Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN)– 13 different training programmes on-: Food packaging & marketing, agribusiness innovation, processing training, micro agricultural enterprise development, good agronomic practices, supply chain linkages, nutrition education
Beneficiaries: Over 2,000 direct beneficiaries, these included:

• Farmers, processors, youths and women. (b). Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security , with 6 Programmes implemented on :: Value chain development for cassava, yam, tomato, maize, and poultry; processing and value addition; emergency production techniques; poverty reduction strategies; crops, fish, and poultry production; agribusiness for women and youth in horticulture
  Beneficiaries: Approximately 435 direct beneficiaries comprising of
  Farmers, processors, youth, women, and agricultural officers.
  (c). West Africa Virus Epidemiology (WAVE) on: Cassava Brown Streak Virus sensitization and disease management with 3 Beneficiaries/ extension officers who later cascaded the training to Cassava Growers Association. (d) Commonwealth of Learning / ARMTI / OAU Ile-Ife on :
  Lifelong Learning for Farmers (L3F) for Sustainable Development Goals
  Beneficiaries: 10 vegetable farmers (e). OCP AFRICA & Oyo State MAR&D on : OCP School Laboratory Training for 22,370 smallholder farmers across multiple Local Government Areas. Total Impact : Over 24,800 beneficiaries were reached through collaborative training programmes focusing on crop production, value addition, agribusiness development, and sustainable farming practices. CONCLUSION

In conclusion, these achievements represent a comprehensive approach to agricultural development that addresses every aspect of the value chain – from input supply and production support to processing, marketing, and capacity building. Our programs have directly impacted tens of thousands of farmers while building the infrastructure and institutional capacity needed for sustainable agricultural growth in Oyo State. The combination of technical services, infrastructure development, and human capital investment positions our state as a leader in agricultural innovation and food security in Nigeria.