The Ogun State Government in collaboration with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, (IITA), Ibadan and the World Bank have inaugurated an information system targeted at farmers and value-chain actors for the economic growth of the state.
The system tagged ‘Ogun State Farmers Information Management System’ (OGFIMS) was inaugurated at the state Ministry of Agriculture, Abeokuta on Thursday.
The Ogun Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr Adeola Odedina appreciated the partners for the project, which he described as key to actualising the agricultural transformation agenda of the state.
He said: “This project is key, without which we will not be able to achieve the agenda of the state in agriculture. This is germane to adding value to our roadmap especially as it is directed toward smallholder farmers.
“We are interested in supporting the smallholder farmers, we are also interested in food security and nutrition, job creation, as well as agricultural industrial processes.”
Odedina stated that having strategic cooperations with the private sector and local as well as international agencies were key components to supporting agriculture in the state.
He said the focus would always be on agriculture and the edge for Ogun State would be value chain coordination and working with partners, hence the importance of the system launched.
In his presentation, the representative of IITA and Project Lead, OGFIMS, Dr Lava Kumar, said it was not just important to have a system but to make sure that the system was functioning and serving its purpose.
He said: “This is a very important tool that is going to be an enabler for the Ogun State transformation agenda because it is going to digitalise the value chains and make integration much easier.
“When you integrate you already know who is present and where instead of actually going to be looking for them.
“One of the major challenges for trade, businesses and even for export is not knowing where the production is happening, not knowing who is processing, not knowing where I can sell my products.
“So, with this registration now people can just use their mobile phones to identify the market for products and buyers. Likewise, those who are aggregating for export can easily identify where producers are.”
Kumar further said sustainability had been built into the project hence its integration into the ministry and training was given to staffers of the ministry to manage the system locally.
Also, the Ogun Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Mr Olaolu Olabintan, said the project was key to the economic transformation of the state.
“For so long we have been doing agriculture at a level where we remain poor. And so whatever that we can do to unleash that potential is what we are interested in because we cannot continue to do the same thing the same way and then expect a different result,” Olubitan said.
He enjoined handlers of the project to maximise the project to achieve the desired objectives and goals and also to update the system as the need arises.
In his address, the World Bank representative, Dr Abel Lufafa said “today’s farming has evolved as the modules of production have changed making it knowledge-intensive, especially as rain patterns have changed too.”
Lufafa said managing information as to rainfall patterns, available products and markets was now important to the future of agriculture and also for the government in terms of making policies and implementation.
“The value I see in this information management system is that it bridges the information gaps between what farmers need and what the extension system or the private sector is providing.
“I think this is the right thing to do and it is timely because it coincided with the agenda of the governor in agriculture and the transformation of the state,” Lufafa said.
He stressed the quality of data, in making sure that the information that goes into the system is valid, up-to-date and useful to the farmers.
Others who spoke at the event were Senior Special Assistant to Ogun Governor on Agriculture, Dr Angel Adelaja-Kuye; Dr Oluseyi Olugbire, Project Manager, Ogun State, Economic Transformation Program (OGSTEP); and Dr Mosum Owo-Odunsi, Project Coordinator commended IITA, World Bank and other partners for the project.
According to reports, OGFIMS featured a digital interface with a dynamic dashboard, farmers database, interactive map, e-learning and e-shop among others.
