Èkìtì State Government to Boost Livestock Production for Job, Wealth Creation

Èkìtì State governor, Mr Biodun Oyebanji, has said his administration would revive more moribund livestock facilities across the state with a view to creating more job opportunities, boost the state’s economy and achieve food security.

Governor Oyebanji disclosed this in Ado-Ekiti during a working visit to the Livestock Development Centre, Erifun, where he inspected the facilities and interacted with the participants in the Broiler Poultry Scheme.

The governor, who recalled his earlier promise to restock the centre with chicks two months ago, said he was impressed with the efficient manner the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security resuscitated the centre to make it work optimally.

Speaking with journalists shortly after the visit, the governor disclosed that his administration would resuscitate another broiler facility in Ikere Ekiti with a capacity to raise more than 40,000 chicks, noting that this would create additional job opportunities for Èkìtì youths.

Governor Oyebanji, who was accompanied by the Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Mr Ebenezer Buluwade, and Special Adviser on Media, Mr Yinka Oyebode, expressed the resolve of his administration to bring in more young people who were interested in livestock farming so as to earn a living for themselves.

“I am very excited that this centre is back and I must commend the Commissioner for Agriculture for walking his talk. You would recall I came here two months ago and the place was still empty. We had a work-plan, and they have brought in the chicks and they were re doing very well. There is an offtaker. We can control the chicks and the quality of the feeds.

“There is another facility in Ikere that can take 40,000 chicks, we will move to that and bring more people into the loop because the commissioner just informed me that we have about 3,000 youths that have signified interest to be part of this broiler scheme.

“This tells me what is possible when you have a future-thinking leadership. The commissioner has a very fantastic team in the ministry, so it behoves us to also support them and ensure that we move from this level, scale up and bring in more people not only youths now, pensioners, retired civil servants that are interested in livestock production, so that they can earn a living for themselves and that will propel our shared prosperity agenda”, the governor stated.