In pursuit of President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda, the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation is set to breathe life into the moribund garri processing factory in Alapoti village, located in Ado Odo, Ota Local Council of Ogun State.
The move comes as a beacon of hope for the predominantly agrarian community, which stands as the second-largest farm settlement in Ogun State, and a key producer within the cassava value chain in southwest Nigeria.
The intervention followed a directive by Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, for the National Programme Manager of the Community and Social Development Projects, Olubunmi Bello, to visit the village.
Alapoti village, which is a 20-minute drive from Lagos through the Agbara corridor, has the potential to be a major supply source of cassava produce to Lagos, the southwest region and other parts of Nigeria.
Baale of the town, Matthew Akanbi Oluwaloni, while appreciating the gesture, thanked the ministry for the initiative. He highlighted major challenges to the economic livelihood of the community, which include long-standing reliance on manual and peasant methods for cassava processing, due to the absence of a functional mechanised garri processing facility.
The limitation, according to him, has significantly hindered the community’s capacity to meet high demand for staple food across major markets in the area and in the southwest. He also said that the access road to the village has been in a deplorable condition for some years, posing serious challenge in sourcing raw materials and accessing markets.
Responding, Bello assured the community of the commitment of the minister towards addressing their plight. Bello said the minister has directed that no effort should be spared towards giving necessary assistance to the community by establishing a befitting cassava processing plant.