Transforming Agriculture in Ogun East into a 21st-Century Economic Powerhouse - NG3C/Wale Kuku Writes

 

Transforming Agriculture in Ogun East into a 21st-Century Economic Powerhouse 

The NG3C led Wale Kuku Writes: Agriculture in Ogun East has historically been central to livelihoods, food supply, and regional trade. However, despite its vast natural endowments and strategic geographic position, the sector remains largely underperforming, fragmented, and undervalued.

With deliberate planning, modern tools, and coordinated execution, agriculture can become the highest income-generating and largest employment-creating sector in Ogun East, driving food security, exports, youth employment, environmental sustainability, and long-term GDP growth.

This article outlines the current challenges, the scale of opportunity, a four-year transformation agenda, and practical, scalable models—many already being piloted by New Generation (NG)—to reposition Ogun East as a modern agro-industrial economy.

The Current Challenges

1. Low Productivity and Fragmentation

Farming across Ogun East remains predominantly small-scale, rain-fed, and poorly mechanised. Farmers operate in isolation with limited access to quality inputs, finance, structured services, and guaranteed markets.

2. High Post-Harvest Losses

A significant share of food produced is lost due to the absence of nearby processing, cold storage, packaging, aggregation, and efficient logistics systems.

3. Weak Youth Participation

Agriculture is still perceived as subsistence labour rather than a modern, profitable career. As a result, youth participation remains low despite rising unemployment and idle farmland.

4. Unplanned Urban Expansion

Farmlands—particularly in Sagamu and across Remo—are rapidly being converted into residential and commercial developments. This unchecked trend threatens long-term food security and agricultural viability.

5. Weak Market Linkages

Despite being less than one hour from Lagos, Etiosa, and major ports, farmers struggle to access premium local and international markets due to poor aggregation, standards, and coordination.

Current Outcomes

• Low farmer incomes despite strong food demand

• High food prices in Lagos despite proximity to producing regions

• Youth unemployment alongside idle and underutilised farmland

• Limited agro-processing and export participation

• Underutilisation of Ogun East’s strategic geographic advantage

Government Efforts So Far (Brief)

Government interventions have largely focused on input subsidies, smallholder support, and intermittent credit schemes. While valuable, these efforts have lacked integrated value-chain planning, market guarantees, youth-led enterprise models, and processing infrastructure required for large-scale transformation.

The Opportunity: A Four-Year Agricultural Transformation Agenda

With focused execution, Ogun East can realistically achieve the following within four years:

• Up to 500% increase in total food output

• Agriculture emerging as the highest revenue-generating sector

• Largest employer of labour and driver of wealth creation

• Over 200% increase in output per acre through modern practices

• Position Ogun East as the primary food basket for Etiosa, Lagos Island, and export markets

• Near-zero post-harvest losses through rapid farm-to-market movement (under one hour to Lagos)

• Entry into premium organic and export-grade food markets

• Up to 500% increase in agriculture’s GDP contribution to Ogun State

• Full development of food processing, packaging, and branding industries

• Establish Ogun East as Nigeria’s most organised agro-industrial zone

Contextual Insight:

The Netherlands—despite having far less arable land than Ogun East—is one of the world’s largest agricultural exporters. Its success is driven by zoning, technology, processing, logistics, and market integration, not land mass. Ogun East possesses the land, climate, labour, and market proximity to achieve similar efficiency if properly structured.

Why Ogun East Has a Structural Advantage

• Proximity to Etiosa, Lekki, Lagos Island, Apapa Port, and Lekki Deep Sea Port

• Direct access to Gateway International Cargo Airport

• Strong arterial road networks connecting farms to markets

• Ability to eliminate long-term storage through rapid farm-to-market flow

• Large, youthful population ready to power agribusiness value chains

Strategic Recommendations

1. Crop and Livestock Zoning (Clusters of Advantage)

To maximise efficiency and scale, Ogun East should adopt crop- and livestock-of-advantage zoning, building industries around what each area does best.

• Ijebu Igbo: Agricultural activity is driven by cassava, cocoa and oil palm as flagship crops, supported by maize, plantain and avocado, with dairy cattle and goats as the main livestock.

• Ago: Known for plantain and banana processing, Ago also produces cocoa, maize and cassava, while livestock farming focuses on dairy cattle and goats.

• Ijebu East: Cassava and oil palm form the core crops, supported by maize, avocado and rice, alongside poultry and goat production.

• Ijebu North-East: Oil palm and cocoa dominate crop production, complemented by plantain, pineapple, avocado and rice, with goats and piggery as key livestock.

• Odogbolu: A centre for greenhouse vegetables and cassava, supported by oil palm and plantain, with strong aquaculture and piggery activities.

• Remo North: Flagship crops include bitter kola and cocoa, supported by cassava, oil palm and plantain, while goats and sheep are the main livestock.

• Ikenne: Greenhouse vegetables lead crop production, backed by maize and cassava, with poultry and goats as primary livestock.

• Ogun Waterside: Rubber and cocoa are the main crops, supported by cassava, maize and plantain, with aquaculture as a major livestock activity.

• Ijebu Ode: Positioned as a specialised poultry production hub.

• Sagamu: Focuses on integrated livestock systems combining fish, poultry and goats.

LGA Flagship Crops Supporting Crops Flagship Livestock

Ijebu Igbo -  Cassava, Cocoa, Oil Palm Maize, Plantain, Avocado Dairy cattle, Goats

Ijebu East - Cassava, Oil Palm Maize, Avocado, Rice Poultry, Goats

Ijebu North- East Oil Palm, Cocoa Plantain, Pineapple, Avocado, Rice Goats, Piggery

Ago-Iwoye - Plantain/Banana (processing) Cocoa, Maize, Cassava Dairy cattle, Goats

Odogbolu - Greenhouse vegetables, Cassava Oil Palm, Plantain Aquaculture, Piggery

Remo North - Bitter Kola, Cocoa Cassava, Oil Palm, Plantain Goats, Sheep

Ikenne - Greenhouse vegetables Maize, Cassava Poultry, Goats

Ogun Waterside - Rubber, Cocoa Cassava, Maize, Plantain Aquaculture

Ijebu Ode — — Poultry City

Sagamu — — Integrated fish, poultry, goats

2. Processing, Storage, and Logistics Zoning

• Ijebu Igbo: Primary food processing and value-addition hub

• Ijebu Ode (Odogbolu corridor): Warehousing, packaging, branding, and logistics coordination centre

• Remo Axis: Bitter kola processing into medicinal derivatives for export; transport and haulage hub

• Seamless integration with Lagos markets, ports, and cargo airport

3. Expanding Market Access (Local & Global)

Production growth without market access destroys value. Market development must lead output expansion.

• Ijebu Ode central sales and marketing hub

• Government-enabled partnerships with:

o Lagos retailers and hospitality chains

o Export aggregators

o International commodity buyers

• Digital marketplaces linking farmers directly to buyers

• Export-grade processing and packaging standards

• Trade missions and diaspora-driven demand aggregation

4. The Poultry City Model (Citizen-Owned, Value-Chain Driven)

A Poultry City along the Epe Road / Isiwo–Ijebu axis should be developed as a shared, citizen-owned agricultural city.

How It Works

• Government provides roads, zoning, water, and power corridors

• Land is planned as a city, not scattered farms

Demarcated Poultry Pens

• Rentable pens (large and small units)

• Citizens can own birds without owning land

Shared Services (Incubated Businesses)

• Veterinary services

• Feed production and supply

• Bird management services

• Slaughtering and processing units

• Packaging and branding businesses

• Solar-powered cold rooms (Cold-Room-as-a-Service)

Market & Payment System

• No upfront service fees

• Everyone earns only when birds are sold

• Commission-based value chain

• Unified digital wallets and traceable payments

• NG e-commerce platform aggregates supply and sells to bulk buyers

Impact

• Massive youth employment

• Reduced poultry prices in Lagos

• Ogun East dominates Lagos poultry supply

• Replicable for fish, goats, pigs, and other livestock

This model should be extended to Ikangba, Ijele/Imodi fish settlements, and cassava and plantain cities.

5. Protecting Farmland: A Strategic Policy Priority

The conversion of farmland to housing—especially in Sagamu and Remo—is a critical threat.

Policy Actions

• Strict agricultural land zoning

• Strong enforcement mechanisms

• Incentives for leasing unused land

• Land-use tax rebates for agricultural leases

• Community land banks

Food security must be treated as strategic infrastructure, not optional land use.

6. Livestock Expansion Beyond Poultry

• Distribution of breeding goats to villages

• Aggregator-led bulk purchasing

• Dual-purpose meat and dairy goat breeds

• Milk processing into cheese and dairy products

This ensures deeper rural participation and higher household incomes.

7. Driving Agribusiness, Agrotech, and Innovation

• Agro-business training centres in every LGA

• Agrotech hackathons

• Youth-led agrotech startups

• Digital extension and advisory services

8. Productive Use of Road Setbacks

Major road corridors with wide setbacks should be converted into:

• Tree crops (plantain, oil palm, fruit trees)

• Medicinal plants

• Ornamental and export-grade crops

This improves aesthetics, increases food supply, and creates passive income for communities.

9. Home Gardens: The Hidden Multiplier

Thousands of homes across Ijebu and Remo have unused land.

Initiatives

• Home garden starter kits

• Aggregated weekly buy-back systems

• Digital registration and payments

• Incentives (cash, input credits, energy discounts)

• School and youth gardens

• Compost and organic waste programs

This ensures every citizen participates in the agricultural revolution, increasing food supply while raising household incomes.

Funding the Transformation

• Results-driven agricultural budgeting

• Legislators dedicating a portion of salaries and constituency funds to agricultural support

• Public-private partnerships

• Development finance with low-interest, patient capital

• Diaspora investment vehicles

• Cooperative-based funding

• Carbon and climate-linked financing for regenerative farming

New Generation (NG): Progress So Far

Through NG Grow, Modern Farmer, and Dídákọ̀ Idán, NG has already delivered:

• 800+ youths farming over 560+ acres

• 1,500+ acres supported through smallholder services

• Cassava City managing full value chain; 40% sold in Lagos and international markets

• Plantain Cities in Ago; 30% processed into Elubo

• Women-led garri processing using leased models

• Incubated agrotech startups covering land access, inputs, mechanisation, monitoring, aggregation, marketing, and sales

• Structured aggregation and sales with reputable technology partners

Modern Farmer 2.0 & Dídákọ̀ Idán 2.0

• Expanded into poultry, pigs, and goats

• Deeper value-chain participation

• Integrated processing and market access

• Poultry City fully designed, locations identified, operators onboarded, payment systems designed, and e-commerce platform in development

Conclusion

Agriculture can become the single largest economic driver of Ogun East if approached as an industry—not a welfare programme. Through zoning, technology, youth leadership, processing, market access, environmental protection, and strong policy alignment, Ogun East can feed Lagos, export globally, create wealth at scale, protect forests, and emerge as Nigeria’s model for 21st-century agriculture.

The opportunity is clear.

The systems are emerging.

The time to act is now.