In every nation or State, agriculture is important in the scheme of things for several reasons ranging from food production to large-scale employment, raw materials for industries, income generation and protection of the eco system. Edo State is basically an agrarian State as it is located in the heart of the tropical rainforest. Past government’s appreciated the agricultural potentials of the State and invested in its development. Cash crops like rubber, cocoa and palm produce were extensively cultivated and became major revenue earners for the State. Similarly the State produced crops such as yam, cassava, rice, plantain, maize, groundnut and assorted types of fruits and vegetables among others. The government of Chief Lucky Igbinedion put in place the first and only agricultural policy in the State till date. The policy amongst other things made small scale farmers the centre piece of agricultural development and targeted 180,000 farm families (6 members) or 900,000 farmers yearly. In line with this policy, extension workers whose duty was to enlighten farmers on modern research findings and who were sacked by Col. Iyam’s administration in 1996 were reabsorbed in the year 2000 and the number increased to 5,000.

This recruitment made Edo State the best in extension worker/farmer ratio which was 1 to 800 instead of 1 to 3,000 in other parts of the country. This ratio which was in conformity with World Bank recommendations boosted farm production and attracted international collaboration and aid. Communal farming schemes were established which had over 6,000 graduate farmers operating at Usugnu-Irrua, Sabogida-Ora, Ikhirale-Ibilo and Obayantor-Benin. These young men and women were not only usefully engaged, they were also impacting their environment as change or extension agents. All these farms have now been abandoned and given to individuals who do not even use the land.

Seed multiplication farms were set up for the production of improved high yielding disease resistant seeds, suckers, seedlings, propagules etc and distributed free of charge to farmers across the State to boost food production. Today, they are all closed down as a result of no funding. The ones at Udo near Ubiaja and Obayanto are most painful because of the infrastructure wasting away there. Under the Igbinedion administration, on-farm storage and small scale processing equipment were distributed to farmers across the State. The earthen dam at Warake, the former Agbede Warake Farm site was done at the cost of N30million to boost irrigation of farms in that community. To galvanise farmers into increased production under the scientific extension delivery service of the ADP, the administration then faithfully ensured that farming seasons were cermonised and supported with inputs, fertilizer, water pumps etc annually. (March-April). A Root and Tuber Expansion Programme (RTEP) and Food Security Programme were launched and operated during that regime. As a result, Edo State became the highest cassava producer in Nigeria. A Root and Tuber processing factory commissioned by the government with all attendant facilities still stands in the ADP office today even though in a dilapidated form due to neglect. It is instructive to note that out of the 45.6million Metric tons of cassava produced annually in Nigeria then, Edo State accounted for over 7 million. Today it is less than 2 million metric ton annually. During IITA led Cassava Mosaic Disease Control Programme, Edo State was able to move cassava production from 12 metric tons per hectare to 50 metric tons per hectare. The Federal government and IITA in appreciation of this effort established the ultramodern integrated cassava processing factory at Irrua at the cost of N100, 000, 000. This factory is rotting away because of the nonchalant attitude of this administration to agricultural development.

The Igbinedion administration also paid a lot of attention to cocoa production and by 2006 Edo State became the second largest cocoa producer in Nigeria after Ondo State. The administration supplied farmers with agro chemicals to control blackpod disease and provided a conducive marketing environment. The Farmers Field School (FSS) initiated and operated by the State Tree crop unit with the active support of the federal government, aided tree crop production. It has since been abandoned at the expense of cocoa and oil palm farmers. Today Edo State is now No. 9 amongst 12 principal cocoa producing States. Agricultural Institutions like the Edo ADP and the Tree Crop Unit were internationally recognised because of their activities, research and payment of counterpart funding and so attracted support of the World Bank, Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations as well as the IITA. These agricultural institutions and agencies that used to drive agricultural development are now virtually moribund. A visit to the ministry or ADP or Tree Crop Unit will confirm this pathetic picture. Commercial agriculture was energized and given land to operate; Presco and Okhomu came into the stock exchange and became the most profitable agricultural companies in Nigeria as a result of this policy. Many commercial farmers and plantations sprung up during this period like Ojemai Farms, Hatman Farm Okhomu, Uwa Farms, Nilsak Farms etc. It is sad that despite huge allocation of government reserved land supposedly for agricultural purpose, fewer farms have emerged in the State. Even worse is the fact that the governor has not visited any of the State agricultural agencies since inception in 2008. Unlike in the past no farming season or agricultural show has been held to prepare farmers and support them for farming during the season. All the bilateral or multilateral collaboration in agriculture that exist in Edo State today were initiated and started by the Igbinedion government. These include the ones with IITA, FAO, Fadama, Rural Financing, Ruffin, community Based Natural Resources Programme. Etc. On the contrary, the present government has not initiated one single agricultural programme.

Poultry production that used to experience a boom in Edo State because of the abundance of maize made possible by the facilitative support of the Igbinedion administration is now endangered in the face of maize scarcity and high cost of purchase. Our artisanal and homestead fisheries are not spared from the scorn and disdain for agriculture by this administration. A visit to Illushi will make you weep. All the fishing gears, nets, boats etc provided by the Igbinedion administration are idling away. No wonder the state is no longer listed among the fishing states in Nigeria. The present government has no policy on agriculture hence agricultural development and farmer empowerment has plummeted in the past seven years. Edo State can be the food basket of the nation if its agricultural potentials are well harnessed. Agriculture can arrest our unemployment crisis. The cassava value chain alone can profitably employ over 500,000 youths not to mention cocoa, oil palm, cashew, rubber etc. The challenges of actualizing these potentials remains to be seriously explored and these include policy inconsistency or lack of interest by government, inadequate and most times zero funding of the sector, poor infrastructural facilities and equipment, bad network of feeder roads, lack of modern techniques and technology in the processing, packaging, storage and distribution of agricultural products. These challenges are however not insurmountable if the political will is present. Edo State government can and should reverse the present decline and make agriculture a focal point. ‪#‎TheFutureIsNow‬

I totally agree with ize-iyamu on this,cus agriculture is completely dead in edo state as it stands today.