23rd August, 2020
Lagos State Government has begun the construction of a one-kilometre drainage system within the premises of the Ikorodu Fish Farm Estate at Odogunyan to tackle the issues that may arise from flooding and its many impacts.
The State Acting Commissioner for Agriculture, Ms. Abisola Olusanya who made this known over the weekend while on an inspection tour of the Farm Estate explained that the construction of the drainage system would go a long way in improving the productivity of the Farm Estate as crop growth rates and fish production would be maximized.
She said that the drainage system would be used to control water bodies, prevent ponding, gather excess water from the land area as well as bring the water away from the farm to the outlet point where the water is led out of the area into the canal.
“We are here at the Odonguyan Fish Farm Estate owned by the Lagos State Government. We found it imperative to inspect the Fish Farm Settlement since we invested a whole lot of money in this place so we wanted to see how far we have gone with some of the projects we have going on. As you can see behind us here, there is a drainage project going on to help mitigate the impacts of flooding within the Estate.
“In the past, we had this whole place flooded; water from the road came down into the Estate affecting crop production and fish production. With this one kilometre drainage, this will be a thing of the past and we hope that our farmers will be happy with this kind of initiative from the Government and the administration of Governor Babajide Olushola Sanwo-Olu,” Olusanya noted.
The Acting Commissioner affirmed that upon completion of the drainage system, there would be an increase in the yield potentials of the Fish Farm Estate, a reduction in viable and machinery costs, and a properly aerated soil which would be conducive for plants to thrive.
According to her, the need to construct the drainage arose from information gathered when the Ministry carried out an appraisal of Farm Estates and Settlements in the State in order to obtain comprehensive data on their status and production level with a view to taking appropriate steps to increase their productivity.
Olusanya explained that the appraisal was imperative to achieve the goal of the State Government to upgrade and improve the existing Farm Estates and Settlements across the State with cutting edge agricultural technologies initiatives and interventions in order to ensure that they operate optimally in line with global best practices.
She added that a water plant had also been constructed within the premises of the Estate to help the farmers in the area of water supply to facilitate reduction in the cost of fish production.
“The Ministry has also constructed a water plant within the Ikorodu Fish Farm Estate in order to supply water to the 194 plots in the Estate to complement the existing water scheme in the Estate. The project will facilitate a reduction in the cost of fish production by N700,000.00 per annum per allottee, as allottees will not need to sink boreholes on their respective plots.
“This will translate to a reduction in operational expenses such as energy and maintenance cost among others. The water project will also increase fish production from 10,000 tons per annum to 16,200 tons per annum as maximal stocking will be achieved,” Olusanya asserted.
Speaking on the network of roads in the Estate, the Acting Commissioner disclosed that a lot was being done by the State Government to ensure that movement within the Estate was unhindered.
“We will be giving a lot more intervention now and in the future but we also need our farmers to understand that it is only when taxes and levies are paid that we can continue to support in terms of infrastructure. It has to be a mutually beneficial relationship. You cannot not give back and keep expecting.
“That mutually beneficial relationship has to be properly balanced for it to be a win- win situation. Under the administration of Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, we want to assure our producers that we will continue to give them maximum support to ensure that the enabling environment created is beneficial to everyone,” she said.