A lawmaker representing Osun East Senatorial District, Senator Francis Adenigba Fadahunsi has called on Nigerians, particularly youths in Osun State, to embrace farming as a pathway to food security and economic stability, warning that the nation must not return to its recent era of widespread hunger and hardship.
Speaking during a media chat with journalists at his country home in Ilase on August 26, Tuesday, the lawmaker stressed that agriculture remains the most reliable solution to rising food costs and unemployment.
“Our people must embrace farming. I am a farmer, and I encourage everyone,no matter how little, to farm. If there is no hunger, automatically we will think right,” Fadahunsi said.
The senator noted that farming activities in some areas of Osun were still dominated by non-indigenes, urging local youths to take advantage of available farmlands and government-backed initiatives.
“If you go to our riverine areas, you hardly see Yoruba boys and girls farming. It is the Hausa and others you find there. But around Ife South and Ife North, many of our youths have begun serious farming, and we are supporting them with seedlings. This is the way forward,” he stated.
Fadahunsi assured that prices of food items would begin to drop before the end of the year as a result of the federal government’s renewed investment in agriculture and efforts by lawmakers to support farmers. He revealed that more food palliatives, including rice, would be distributed in the coming weeks while encouraging farmers to stockpile harvests for the dry season.
He added that during recent deliberations at the National Assembly, emphasis was placed on directing governors to invest in grassroots agricultural projects. “Any governor who fails to go deep into the local areas to invest in agriculture will lose credibility,” he warned.
Beyond farming, Fadahunsi also highlighted the importance of continuous voter registration, urging residents, including farmers and settlers in his senatorial district, to participate massively in the exercise.
“Where you are resident, where you are farming, where your children are schooling, you and your family must register. If you want to belong to us, you must register here,” he said.
The senator, who assured that Osun would not lag behind in the exercise, said community leaders and custodians of culture were being mobilized to encourage their people to register, including migrant farmers who contribute to the state’s agricultural output.
According to him, the combined focus on agriculture and political participation will help strengthen Osun’s economy, improve food security, and ensure that the voices of farmers and rural communities are well represented in governance.
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