Osun State Farmers Want Seed Firms, Others To Attend November’s Agric Exhibition In Osogbo

Members of Osun State Cooperatives Farmers Union have asked the organisers of the first-ever international agricultural exhibition and conference in Nigeria, Agritech Nigeria Osun 2018, which will take place in Osogbo, Osun State, to ensure that seeds companies in the country take part in the event.

Agritech Nigeria Osun 2018 is scheduled to hold from 20-22 November, 2018 at the Osogbo Stadium. The event, which is the first Nigeria’s largest Exhibition and Conference on agriculture, farm machineries, dairy, poultry, water technology, livestock equipment, agriculture processing technologies and environmental control,  is being organized by the Government of the State of Osun, Fesco Agalu Enterprises Nigeria Limited, Kenes Exhibition (organiser of Agritech Israel) and SIFAX Group of Companies.

Speaking during a strategic meeting held with the Agritech Nigeria Osun 2018 Team at their secretariat at Abere, Osogbo on Tuesday, the executives of Osun State Cooperatives Farmers Union from some local government areas in the state unanimously demanded that, while they will mobilise their over 500,000 members spread across the nook and crannies of Osun State to participate in the Agritech Nigeria event, they would love to see companies that will address their immediate problems exhibiting their products at the agricultural exhibition event.

“This Agritech Nigeria Osun 2018 is a program we will be happy to see happening in Osogbo. It has been long time we having been looking forward to dealing with these agricultural companies without passing through intermediaries who were not serving us any good. We know that there are a lot of seed companies in Nigeria, and others who are manufacturers of agricultural machineries for small holders farmers. Unfortunately, as the end users, we don’t get to have improved and quality seeds from these companies because some people hijacked them and divert them for their own benefits.

“We believe that with this Agritech Nigeria Osun 2018 event, we will have the opportunity to interface with these companies directly as individual farmer and as a Cooperatives Society, ” said Mrs Grace Temilola Hanafi, the Executive Secretary of Federation of Osun State Cooperatives Limited.

The President of Osun State Cooperatives Farmers Union, Alhaji Olayiwola Adeshina assured the Agritech Nigeria Osun 2018 Team led by its Executive Director, Mr Yahaya Majeed, Director of Programs, Mr Taiwo Adelu, Director of Research and Logistics, Mrs Funmilayo Osonde and the Coordinator, Anchor Borrower Programme, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, State of Osun, Prince Sanmi Bamidele that “We will be ready for the event in November. We saw that this programme is different from others we knew. Be rest assured that we will storm Osogbo Stadium for Agritech event.”

“Agritech Nigeria Osun 2018 will be a gathering of more than 400,000 visitors all over the world to discuss business opportunities in agriculture. It is an event where Africans will meet their European counterparts without necessary travel to Europe. It is a platform for investors meeting to discuss businesses of mutual business, ” Mr Yahaya said.