Nudoiba Ojen
As part of contributions to food availability and affordability, the authorities of Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin, have harvested maize from the school’s farm cultivated on 20 hectares of land.
The Rector, Dr Abdul Mohammed, who personally supervised the crop harvest, said that the institution had expended N13m on maize and cassava plantation.
Speaking shortly after the harvest, Mohammed said 40 hectares of land would be cleared for cultivation of crops in the next farming season.
The Rector said, “What led to this idea is to find a way of discouraging or curbing encroachment utilizing our institution‘s virgin land for agricultural purposes. This is our own contribution to making food available and affordable for the polytechnic’s community and its environs; and the state at large.
“We cleared 10 hectares of land initially. When we finished the first 10 hectares, we moved to the second phase of another 10 hectares, making 20 hectares all together.
”The farming is carried out by the Department of Agricultural Technology, Department of Agricultural Engineering and Bio Environmental, under the supervision of a committee,” Mohammed said.
He said that part of the proceeds from the sale of the harvested crops would be reinvested into farming, while the remaining would be used as part of internally generated revenue (IGR) for the institution.
“We used about N10,000,000 for clearing of the land and about N3,000,000 was used to purchase seedlings and cassava stems, ” he added.
The representative of the state Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Hajia Rodhiat Yahaya, commended the foresight of the rector and his team which gave birth to the school farm.
She said that the initiative would go a long way in ensuring food security in the state and address the land encroachment challenges facing the institution.
