A senator representing Ogun West and the APC governorship candidate for Ogun State, Sen Solomon Adeola fondly called Yayi. Photo: APC

Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, on Tuesday empowered 2,557 farmers in Ogun State with tractors, tricycles, farm inputs and cash grants.

Speaking during the second edition of his farmers’ empowerment programme held at the Asade Agunloye Pavilion in Ilaro, the senator representing Ogun West said President Bola Tinubu’s sustained investments in agriculture were beginning to transform food production across the country.

Adeola described the intervention as part of efforts to complement the Federal Government’s food security agenda under the Renewed Hope programme.

The beneficiaries received 10 tractors with full attachments, 250 haulage tricycles, 1,500 knapsack sprayers, 8,000 bags of NPK and urea fertiliser, 1,000 solar and gasoline-powered water pumps, 1,000 seed planters, 17 power tillers, improved seeds and seedlings, organic fertilisers and other farming tools. Each beneficiary also received a cash grant of N100,000.

 The lawmaker said the empowerment was designed to address low agricultural productivity, high costs of farm equipment and limited access to finance while supporting the Federal Government’s drive to increase food production.

Highlighting Tinubu’s commitment to the agricultural sector, Adeola said the administration had committed huge resources to initiatives aimed at achieving food sufficiency.

He said, “The Federal Government has continued to make significant investments in agriculture through the N100bn National Agriculture Development Fund, the ‘Earn From the Soil’ initiative, the allocation of over N350bn for dam irrigation projects and the acquisition of 2,000 tractors nationwide.”

According to him, the administration has also provided N12bn for the newly established Ministry of Livestock, with ranch development planned for Ogun State and six other states.

Adeola maintained that the President’s economic reforms were already yielding positive outcomes, particularly in reducing food inflation, saying, “The reforms associated with the removal of oil subsidy and the foreign exchange market are yielding expected results and the economy is on a course to sustained growth.

“Inflation, particularly food inflation, has been on the downward spiral according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics. From an inflation rate of 31.70 per cent in February 2024, the headline inflation rate stood at 15.91 per cent as of June 2026.

“This is about a 50 per cent drop in inflation rate. Different market surveys also indicate a significant drop in prices of some basic food items in most markets over the last three and a half years. The hitherto ‘Ebi npa wa o’ chant has virtually died down in the society.”

Speaking further, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations said irrigation remained a critical component of Tinubu’s agricultural strategy to ensure year-round farming.

He noted, “A major highlight of the Renewed Hope Agenda on agriculture of the President is the drive to ensure all-year-round farming with a target for three farming seasons annually.

“This target has led President Tinubu to allocate over N350bn for reticulation and desilting of various dams across the nation by all River Basin Development Authorities to provide water for massive irrigation of farmlands.

“I am sure that Ogun-Osun River Basin Development Authority in Ogun State is part of the initiative and we are all poised to benefit from this laudable initiative pursuant to the three-season annual farming calendar.”

Adeola also commended Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun for complementing the Federal Government’s interventions through the distribution of N700m worth of farm inputs, free farmland for youths, the Ogun State Farmers Information System and the operational Agro Cargo Airport.

He recalled that no fewer than 5,910 farmers benefited from the maiden edition of the empowerment programme through the distribution of tractors, tricycles and fertilisers.

The senator urged beneficiaries to utilise the equipment for farming rather than dispose of them, adding that a central management team would supervise the operation of tractors and other mechanised equipment to ensure sustainability.

He also pledged to expand the initiative if elected governor of Ogun State in 2027, promising more agricultural empowerment programmes capable of producing what he described as “billionaire farmers” in the state.