Origin Tech Group, Lagos and Benue states Strengthens Partnership on Food Security and Agricultural Development as parties tours LHP, Signs MoU.

Towards building meaningful partnerships on the Produce for Lagos Programme, the Executive Director, Corporate Services, Origin Tech Group, Mr. Olusesan Ayeni, the technical partners to the Ministry of Agriculture & Food Systems in Lagos state in the delivery of the Lagos State Central Food Security Systems and Logistics Hub (LHP) in Epe-Ereyun in Lagos state has restated the organisation’s commitment to ensuring that Origin Tech Group continues to support partnerships and initiatives towards ensuring food security in Nigeria.

Ayeni who is the representative of Origin Tech Group to the partnership for the Public Partnership Project for the LHP spoke during the visit and Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing between the Benue and Lagos state governments on food security.  

A cardinal focus of the strategic partnership is to unlock the potentials across all the advantages of the major stakeholders even as Benue State positions itself to transition from being Nigeria's "Food Basket" into an industrial powerhouse, while Origin Tech Group and Lagos state’s collaborative leverage of the LHP and similar anchors domiciled within the Lagos state 5-Year Agricultural Roadmap which has also been leveraged by the governments of Niger, Adamawa and Taraba states respectively offers that unique opportunity for Benue state.

Similarly, Deputy Governor of Benue state, His Excellency, Barr. (Dr.) Sam Ode, mni also stated that:  

‘’Benue has not come to learn; Benue has come to partner with Lagos state and to make sure that we consummate and consolidate a relationship that Benue will produce all the food and Lagos will offtake. So that is a simple transaction that has brought us here as Benue is known as the food basket of the nation of Nigeria, we don't want that as an appellation just to be rhetoric, we want it to be in practice and so the partnership between Benue and Lagos has the potential to produce a mix that will ensure food security for Nigeria and so the Memorandum of Understanding that we are here to sign today is going to put that into practice.

We are partnering with Lagos state government on food production. We have cash crops, we have tubers, we have quite a lot of agricultural produce that we can bring to Lagos while Lagos offtake, process and feed the nation and beyond’’

Also present at the visit were the Honourable Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Systems, Ministry of Agriculture & Food Systems, Lagos state, Ms. Abisola Olusanya, Special Adviser to the Governor on Agriculture and Food Systems, Dr. Oluwarotimi Fashola and the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Mr. Emmanuel Audu, amongst others while the delegation from Benue State, was led by the Deputy Governor, His Excellency, Barrister (Dr.) Samuel Ode and members of the council of Benue state government.

The visit intends to build partnership on the Produce for Lagos Programme.