PRESS RELEASE
The Lagos State Government is planning for a Lagos Agriculture & Food Systems’ Roadmap 2.0, a feedback on the state as regards food security, progress report on its goals and KPIs, and a platform for support of the ecosystem.
This is to further encourage new entrants into the sector towards boosting food production in the state.
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.
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 mind individuals in ecosystem of Agriculture engaging in stuff like logistics, fintech, packaging, branding to showcase the success to 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 opportunity for international exposures where necessary.
She expressed the hope that more young people with bias for Agriculture who are trustworthy and intelligent will come into the Agrinnovation Club space to drive the vision.
Abisola Olusanya assured that the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration is ready to listen to them and provide solution to address their challenges.
The Commissioner also disclosed that the implementation of Ounje Eko was very challenging but very remarkable and impactful on the lives of residents in the face of rising food prices..
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 business.
Dr Fashola noted that the state government is prepared to work with them to move the Club to the next level.
Commenting on the venue of the event, the Special Adviser said that it was inspiring using containers to create the space same thing he pointed the Ministry is doing with the Last Mile Meat Shops recently inaugurated.
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 is perculiar to Agric Business said it goes beyond farming, innovation, technology and whole value chains from the production to final consumers.
He emphasized on the need for participants to be innovative so as 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.
Olagoke Balogun cited some Business Models in Agriculture which includes Direct primary and Agric Tourism recalling that he grew up in Kwara State and experienced first hand the practice of community farming before moving to Lagos to start So Fresh.
He emphasized on the need for the young business owners to consistently collect data on every aspect of their business operations so as to generate a pattern on customer preferences such what they order the most and what time such orders are made.
Balogun further urged them to think of how best to get their products to as many people as possible and study the trend in the global space on customer preferences, product design and areas of service improvement. “The more you understand your customers, the more you can serve them better” he asserted.
He concluded by emphasizing the need for businesses to put in place a good cost structure, cashflow strategies and monthly evaluation of their operational profitability or loss as business failure is inevitable without 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 thing to promote the growth of every business adding it could also help to grow customer base and effectively reduce cost.
“Everyday, there is something new to catch up with and could be difficult to jump from one to another to keep up with the competition space. Collaboration could be internal or external”, she added.
According to her, Memorandum of Understanding or collaboration agreements must be clear on what to do when to do in starting or ending partnerships and that business and contractual agreements should be devoid of family ties.
Yinka Omogboye of the Farm Junction while sharing the Ounje Eko experience said that the project aligned with his company’s vision.
He explained that they established Farm Junction in 2017 with the purpose of getting foods and other consumables to the door steps of the consumers. Speaking further, Omogboye lamented that they regularly incurred unnecessary high cost on Tomatoes from Kano to Lagos due to the activities of middlemen.
The Chief Operating Officer of the Admiralty Farmers Market, Oyin Asaaju while speaking on Business and Product support, noted that quality product and customer satisfaction is accorded priority by the farm.
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 main stay of the economy in Lagos State.
Nike Sodipo
Public Affairs Unit
Ministry of Agriculture and Food Systems
24/5/2024
