LASG SET TO UNVEIL AGRIC, FOOD SYSTEMS ROADMAP 2.0, OTHERS
… Holds Agrinnovation Club Hangout 3.0
The Lagos State Government is set to unveil a Lagos Agriculture and Food Systems’ Roadmap 2.0, a Feedback Mechanism as regards food security, a Progress Report on its Goals and KPIs, and a Platform for support of the ecosystem.
The State Commissioner for Agriculture, Ms Abisola Olusanya announced this during the Agrinnovation Club Hangout 3.0 held at the MAD House, University of Lagos in Akoka, Lagos.
She explained that the summit will provide a platform for the Stakeholders in the Agrinnovation Club to speak directly to the leadership of the state and the nation at large on the challenges confronting them for swift response and this will further encourage new entrants into the sector towards boosting food production in Lagos.
According to her, the ultimate goal of the summit is on how to ensure food security that will in the long run force down the prices of food.
Ms. Abisola Olusanya said the Agrinnovation Club is for like-minded individuals in the ecosystem of Agriculture engaging in stuff like logistics, fintech, packaging and branding to showcase the success of the young innovative people of the state.
The Commissioner noted that the essence of the forum was to create the ecosystem for the growth of Agrinnovation Club and for collaboration processes which could include opportunities for international exposure where necessary.
She expressed the hope that more young people with a bias toward Agriculture who are trustworthy and intelligent will come into the Agrinnovation Club space to drive the vision.
On his part, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Agriculture, Dr. Oluwarotimi Fashola charged members of the Club to think more outside the box as there are untapped opportunities within the State’s Food System.
He implored them to be sensitive to the environment and be cautious in going into collaboration with other businesses.
One of the facilitators at the Agrinnovation Club 3.0, Mr. Olagoke Balogun, Chief Executive Officer of So Fresh, who spoke on Business Models and Cost Structure as it pertains to Agric Business, said it goes beyond farming, innovation, technology and whole value chains from the production to final consumers.
He emphasised the need for participants to be innovative to deliver value to their target markets while encouraging farmers to increase production to leverage economies of scale with the limited resources available to them.
Another facilitator, Mrs. Ifeoluwa Ariyo, the Chief Executive Officer of ForthWorth Farms, took the session on Insights on Collaboration for Growth. She said that collaboration was key to learning new things to promote the growth of every business, adding it could also help to grow the customer base and effectively reduce cost.
In his closing remarks, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Emmanuel Fatai Audu described the platform as excellent and applauded the two facilitators for their thought-provoking submissions.
He reiterated the need for Agrinnovation Club members to be patient with growing their businesses and expressed the hope that Agriculture would soon become the mainstay of the economy in Lagos State.