Lagos State consumes 1m tons of rice annually, produces 50,000 tons, says Commissioner for Agriculture …Urges Nigerians to embrace Agriculture

Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture, Hon. (Ms) Abisola Olusanya, has disclosed that out of over 1million tons of rice consumed in Lagos annually, the state can only boast of production of 50,000 tons.

She stated that the state sources over 950,000 tons of rice from outside the state on yearly basis.

Olusanya said that the production output of tomatoes is also grossly deficient compared to its consumption need.

The Commissioner made the disclosures while delivering her paper as a Keynote speaker at the Lagos State University-Alexander Von Humboldt International Conference (LASU-Humboldt Kellog 2023), on Tuesday, May 2, 2023 at Ojo.

She spoke on the paper titled ‘Advancing Food Security through Good Governance in Nigeria’, while the theme of the Conference was ‘Repositioning Science And Technology To Tackle Food Insecurity, Environment And Health Challenges Through Research Collaborations And Capacity Building For Sustainable Development’.

The Commissioner also stated that all sectors of the economy operate via a central pipe traceable to agriculture. “What we regard as the production, manufacturing sectors are basically hinged on agriculture. The clothes we are putting, especially the ones made of original cotton, are products of basic agriculture”.

She spoke further that the tyres of vehicles and interior furniture are all materials that originated from agricultural activities.

Olusanya also spoke on the need to get more actively involved in pro-agricultural activities, this she said would help Lagos State in attaining sufficient food production for sustainable food security.

The commissioner was also of the opinion that the factors holding the economy are food security and the security of life and property.

She called on youths to participate in agriculture, no matter their profession, adding that there will be less pressure on the workers’ incomes since less will be expended on feeding and as such the rising cost of living will be brought down significantly.

Earlier at the event Prof. Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello in her Welcome Remark said she was optimistic that the conference would proffer solutions to the myriads of challenges of food insecurity bedeviling the nation.

Other keynote speakers include, Prof. Odunayo Clement Adebooye the Vice Chancellor of Osun State University who spoke on the paper titled ‘Tackling Food Insecurity, Environment And Health Challenges In Nigeria: The Potential Of Science And Technological Innovations Through Research Collaborations And Capacity Building For Sustainable Development.’

Another keynote was delivered by the Hon. Minister of Science and Technology, Senator Olorunimbe Mamora who was represented  by the Director General/ Chief Executive, Nigeria Natural Medicine Development Agency, Dr. Sam Etatovie.

Prof. Kabiru Akinyemi, Director of Linkages, Partnerships and Collaborations at Lagos State University was the convener of the conference.