The former governor of Oyo State Senator Rashidi Ladoja is currently working on a mega farm project, and that is what has been keeping him busy, away from politics lately. It is a modern mechanised farming project. It is huge. A 13,000 hectares of land farm project. It is located at Yakoyo in Ikoyi-Ile, Orire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
The project, when fully completed and commenced production, is enough to cater for the whole of South Western states and even more, as far agricultural products are concerned.
Of course Ladoja, the Osi Olubadan of Ibadanland, is known to be farmer, politician and a businessman but not many know that he has a farm as big as this. The farm, we exclusive gathered, was bought by high chief Ladoja from Total Nigeria Plc about twenty five years ago.
Total, it was gathered, had put everything in place for the farm to take off but for some unknown reasons couldn’t continue with the project, which made them to put it up for sale. Tractors, workers’ quarters, silos, as well as several other processing machines and farming equipment were said to have already been mounted and almost rotten away before it was sold. The farm also comes with a special irrigation system, large enough for the whole farmland.
Ladoja on the other hand, we heard, had also abandoned the farm for many years but has since embarked on a reviving mission on the farm. That is where he now reports to almost everyday, we heard. It would be recalled that Ladoja had previously worked with Total Nigeria Plc. He served at the various capacities of the multinational company for thirteen good years before he retired in 1985. He is also an engineer and owns a shipping company. He had his university education at University of Liège with B.sc in Chemical Engineering between 1966 and 1972.
He has always been a rich man even before becoming governor of Oyo State in 2003. He was a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria during the 3rd Republic, in 1993. But despite all his fame and riches, he remains as humble as dove. His simplicity is second to none. Even as governor back then, he always appear in Ankara most of the times. He is an Ibadan man to the core, call him a bush man if you like. It doesn’t bother him. He is a farmer and he has never contend that. He always appear as one.
That also reflected, in no small means, in his agricultural policies as governor back then. Under his watch as governor, some of the agric reforms include establishment of AFFCOT Mahindra at Eleyele, to enable farmers purchase tractors at an affordable prices; procurement of new 50 tractors and 47 repaired across the local governments in the state; reorganization and re-establishment of farm settlements across the state.
Ladoja didn’t only encourage cooperative farming scheme but also provided loans to farmers. He also provided agro-chemical and fertilizers to farmers at subsidised rates. Not to talk of the over 5,000 farmers that were trained in agricultural business at Rural Communities Development Centre, Awe and rehabilitation of fish hatchery at Ogbomosho, as well as creation of six additional hatcheries in various farm settlements.
During his administration, over 600,000 seedling of forest trees were made available free of charge to farmers, cooperate bodies and schools.
It was also under him that a massive repair and revival of grain process plants and warehouses, as well as repair of dams and irrigation system in Oyo State were carried out. This is just to mention but few of his many achievements in that sector as governor and a private man. He is a phenomenon in the agric sector.
This his new project at Yakoyo has been adjudged a mega farm project capable of making Oyo State the food basket of not only the South West but other Africa countries. It will also provide high number of employments to the youths.
-Dare Adeniran
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