Joint agribusiness park activities commence in Oyo State, Nigeria

IITA and Oyo State have commenced activities on an agribusiness center in Awe, Oyo Town. On 7 October, the project’s Joint Committees’ meeting agreed to change the center name from Rural Community Development Center (RCDC) to IITA-Oyo State Agribusiness Park Center, Awe.

Earlier, IITA’s Facilities Management Services (FMS) commenced construction work at the processing center, aiming to introduce a modern cassava processing structure. Identified office spaces, training rooms, the pen for sheep and goats, as well as poultry facilities will also be rehabilitated.

On 12 October, mechanized cassava planting began on 43 hectares of land in the community. The team purchased 3,000 cassava stem bundles and 172 bags of fertilizer in preparation for planting.

IITA’s Supply Chain Unit processed the purchase of small farm machines for use at the center, including a rototiller, four brush cutters, one power weeder, two power sprayers, and one pushing type lawnmower.

Technical Adviser to the IITA Youth in Agribusiness Office, Paul Woomer, led discussions on drafting the center’s masterplan, and a first draft is being reviewed by the IITA team.

An IITA and Oyo State Government (OYSG) joint team visited the Agribusiness Park to analyze the present state of the facilities and decide on the way forward to implement activities. The delegation agreed on the modalities for renovating office blocks, including inputs from Oyo State Agribusiness Development Agency (OYSADA). The state government will also renovate the 750-person capacity training hall, with backstopping from FMS.

When full activities start, the Agribusiness Park will include livestock operations for sheep, goats, small ruminants, a cashew plantation, an oil palm plantation, and agro-processing facilities.