By Yemi Olajutemu
Ado Ekiti
The Ekiti State Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has taken a pragmatic step towards the development of the horticulture sector in the state through a special team field visit to the smallholder vegetable farmers in Erio-Ekiti and Awo-Ekiti.
The visit was facilitated by the 2SCALE vegetable partnership southwest BSS coordinator Mayowa Ekundayo and led by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Agriculture and Food Security, Mr. Ebenezer Boluwade.
Other members of the team were Emmanuel Akinwekomi (2SCALE Inclusive Agribusiness Advisor managing the Vegetable Syndicate Partnership) and the Southwest Sales Manager EastWest Seeds (EWS), among others.
During the visit, strategic meetings were held with the vegetable farmer groups, which helped to identify some challenges the farmers were facing and the possible areas of intervention to improve the horticulture sector in Ekiti State.
After the visit, the SA and 2SCALE teams continued the discussion and agreed on a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to develop a partnership strategy that will collectively support the development of the horticulture value chain in these two communities and other vegetable-producing communities in Ekiti State.
Some of the specific areas this agreement will cover include capacity building of the farmers on good agriculture practices, the establishment of demonstration farmers using hybrid seeds, access to high-quality inputs at an affordable rate, and the establishment of a modern vegetable aggregation center for easy access to the market.
The Ekiti State Ministry of Agriculture is enthusiastic about this partnership and believes that it has the potential to significantly improve the food system in the state.