Commissioner Seeks Special Recognition For Farmers On World Food Day

Ms Abisola Olusanya, the Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture, has urged the Federal Government to set aside a day as a public holiday to recognize farmers’ contributions to the nation’s development.

Olusanya made the call on Thursday during a road walk and sensitization event organized by the Lagos state government as part of activities commemorating the 2022 World Food Summit.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), World Food Day is an annual celebration held on October 16 by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to encourage action on food insecurity.

“Leave No One Behind” is the theme for 2022. Better production, better nutrition, a healthier environment, and a happier life.”

According to the commissioner, every year on December 6, Ghana celebrates Farmers’ Day and declares it a public holiday, during which the President recognizes the best farmer in the country.

“As a result, if you meet a Ghanaian farmer, they will tell you that they are proud of their work,” he explained.

Farmers, she believes, are the foundation of any society and deserve to be respected, appreciated, awarded, and recognized.

She stated that the 2022 World Food Day was a gathering of all those who had kept the country together, particularly during emergencies like COVID-19 and other issues that had occurred in the previous two years.

“The truth is that our farmers deserve to be respected, appreciated, honored, and recognized.”

“I don’t think we realize how important farmers are to us.” I believe that most Lagosians believe that we have a right to food.

“We don’t understand the guts and backbreaking work that farmers put in to produce, get to market, and for you to be able to buy, prepare, and feed yourself.”

“The farmers endure a great deal. “When you look at crops from farm to plate, there are usually seven middlemen between the farmer and the final consumers,” she explained.

The commissioner said it was regrettable that the farmers made the least margin and for that reason, it became discouraging to continue to work. ”Imagine if every farmer decides to leave that line of work and go into telecommunication, technology or get into some sort of business, there will be no food.

”For these people to continue in this line of work, it means that they have persevered, and for that reason, the entire nation should applaud the farmers.

“It takes a lot of effort as a government to continue to give incentive to support farmers to do what they do,” she said.

Olusanya stressed that farmers needed to be celebrated like teachers, adding, ”without the farmers and without the producers, the nation would have nothing.”

She said that the British American Tobacco Foundation, Stanbic IBTC bank, Lashone link farms, Dangote Sugar and refinery and others would be sponsoring events to celebrate farmers.

The commissioner said that no fewer than 10,000 farmers would participate and would be celebrated by Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu at the grand finale scheduled for Oct. 16.

Farmers from all 57 Local Government Areas and Local Council Development Areas would celebrate the day, she said.

“That is what Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu will do on Oct. 16 to applaud our farmers, appreciate and award them, and tell them that there will be no Lagos without them,” she said.

Olusanya went on to say that the walk and sensitization show were organized to raise awareness about food and the importance of farmers.

“We took a walk this morning from Olowu junction in Ikeja to Alausa Secretariat, and I believe it was fantastic.” It’s more of a family walk with people discussing business and Nigeria.

“We will be at the Police College, Ikeja, for the grand finale next week Sunday,” she said.(NAN)

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