Lagos to increase egg supply to market from January …as cassava flour factory begins operation in Epe

Beginning from January 2014, about 150,000 eggs will be produced additionally and supplied to the market daily from the Lagos State owned Araga Farm Settlement and Agricultural Training Institute in Epe Local Government Area of the state.

The state is working on the farm with young graduates who are taking to farming as a way of life having been trained in various aspects of farming.

The government has just commissioned a 50, 000-capacity automated 5-unit broiler houses, 200-unit of 2-bedroom apartment for farmers and 2.34-kilometre road network, within the agric training institute.

Also commissioned is a cassava flour factory in what aims at boosting food supply to the growing population of Lagos.

Governor Babatunde Fashola said at the official commissioning of the flour factory that his administration is intensifying effort at boosting food security as well as creating more employment opportunities in the agro-allied industry.

According to the governor, “This is about developing new ideas that will create opportunities for the citizens. Also, the 64 tons per day capacity feed mills is meant to ensure that feed mills are provided locally. And we have employed 32 people to keep the place going.

“While the 50, 000-capacity automated broiler will increase chicken production in the state from today, this new facility will produce 10, 000 chicken weekly. And we have also added 50, 000 bird layers. And by 2014, the stock of egg production from the agric training institute will increase to 150, 000 eggs daily by January. There isn’t simple solution to the problem but what it means is that we need to continuously be innovative, focused and truthful and honest about what we are doing.

“We did not need to hold discussion about many things including the problem of food production and power. What we need is a clear plan and unflinching commitment to implement those plans. And we can tackle the problem”, he said.

He said the idea of establishing the youth empowerment programme is to address the food challenges by engaging the youths, adding that “if we don’t produce food, banking industry will collapse, if we don’t produce food, the factory will shut down, if we don’t produce food and go back to the land there will be no rubber to produce tyre and drive luxury cars. That was the simple idea behind agric-yes, which was to go back to the land.”

On the new projects, the governor explained, “The 32 tons cassava mills are meant to provide cassava flour, to supplement what the flour mills are using in their production. It is a small beginning but it showed that an idea that was started four years ago has become reality.”