Food Security: Kwara Poly Cultivates 20 Hectares of Maize, Cassava

Hammed Shittu in Ilorin

As part of move to boost food security in Kwara State, the management of the Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin, has cultivated 20 hectares of maize and cassava, to prevent further encroachment on the institution’s land.

Speaking with journalists in Ilorin during the harvest of the maize, the Rector of the institution, Dr. Abdul Jimoh, stated that the gesture was in line with the state Govenror, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq administration’s commitment to boost food production in the state.

According to him, “The management is disturbed by the continued encroachment of the polytechnic land by some suspected members of the public.

“With the recent effort to take some of our land back from some suspected members of the public, the management in its recent meeting agreed to embark on farming project on the land so as to stop any further encroachment of the land.

“It is on this premise that we started the  cultivation of 20 hectares of maize and cassava in the land as a pilot project.

“We are also planning to embark on another 20 hectares of soya beans and beans in the next farming season.”

Jimoh stated further that: “The management has planned to invite local farmers in the state to obtain rent of our land for farming purposes.”

He said that these local farmers would have access to two hectares of land and it would be renewed every year so as to enable them to embark on a massive food production in the state.

Jimoh, however, said that the gesture would be approved by Governor AbdulRazaq before the management of the institution would give further directives on the rent of the available land.

The rector, however, called on the land speculators to stay away from the institution’s land saying that the management of the institution would leave no stone unturned at retrieving all the institution’s lands that had been encroached.