By Adedapo Adesanya
In order to drive food security in Nigeria, an agricultural technology company, Groupfarma, a brand owned by Timesellers Limited, is cultivating a total of 2,500 hectares of premium rice in Ogun State.
Due to the ban on importation of rice into the country, the company, which makes local cultivation and production of rice more attractive, has identified arable land for the cultivation of rice in various locations in Ogun State.
The journey had been implemented earlier this month when the Ogun State Government, represented by the Commissioner of Agriculture, Mr Adeola Odedina, visited one of the locations at Eggua Yewa North, Ogun State.
During the visit, the commissioner lauded the efforts and plans of Groupfarma as regards agriculture in the state.
Local farmers who have also been integrated into the project were also present to express their excitement and readiness to profitably partner with Groupfarma.
With this, Groupfarma is set to empower and greatly improve the quality of lives of farmers. The rice farm would be largely driven by the local farmers with the company’s backing.
During the official visit to the farm, the Commissioner expressed his joy at the ongoing project and stated that the state government will continue to support agric projects such as the one Groupfarma is executing.
On his part, Mr Niyi Ogungbade, the CEO of Timesellers Limited, stated that Groupfarma is one of the leading Agritech startup companies in Nigeria because of its proven commitment to providing Agritech solutions.
He also noted that the company will ensure that local farmers and financial partners are able to have a profitable agreement.
He noted that the Ogun State Government has always demonstrated its unwavering support for agriculture in the state, which was why Groupfarma found Ogun State as a suitable location and partner for its rice project.
Groupfarma was recently ranked as the number one agriculture technology company in Nigeria.
Modupe Gbadeyanka