How Okada riders changed rice farming in Lagos, Ogun

Rice farming in Magboro along the Lagos- Ibadan expressway in Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State is now attracting people of various classes and business backgrounds, thereby boosting economic growth and food security in the area and Ogun State at large.

Muhammed Bello, the chairman of Albarka farmers’ group, who expanded the rice project using mechanised farming in the area told Weekend Trust that it was some Northern commercial motorcyclists known as Okada riders in Magboro, who initiated it, but on a small scale.

“Most of them are my boys, and I supported them financially when they started. I used to give them loan ranging from N1 million to N10 million and whenever they harvested, they would pay me back. It was later on they urged me to join them in the farming, and when I visited the site, I realised that it’s a fertile land suitable for all kinds of farming, hence I liaised with the traditional rulers and other stakeholders. We then acquired hectares of land and initiated mechanised rice farming on  a large scale.

“I also employed the services of young farmers’ group and with our resources and the effort we put in, it is yielding good results and we gained the state government’s recognition through the Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Bolu Owotomo, who visited us.

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“What motivated us more is that Ogun State governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun was the one who flagged off our first rice harvest this year. The governor has motivated us to do more, and as I speak now, we are still harvesting rice. We will harvest some in the next two weeks, as we are also preparing for dry season farming where we will deploy solar system to water the farm”, he said.

Bello said the potentials in rice farming are now being harnessed by youths from different professions, businesses and backgrounds who are coming from different parts of the state and the neighbouring Lagos State, adding that Osun State government also contacted him to initiate the project in Osun.

“Many people are now showing interest to farm with us. We have many professionals who are already farming here, including lawyers, police, civil servants, business men, among others and as we are ready to replicate the project in Osun State on the invitation of the state government. It means that the project will be expanded to other South-west states as the authorities of the Lagos Rice Mill in Imota Ikorodu, have also shown interest in our products. If governments at all levels support the system, there will be food security and jobs in the region and the country,” Bello said.

Sa’id Habib, who used to be a commercial motorcycle rider in Magboro, is now into rice farming. He said he once conveyed the initiator, Muhammed Bello, to the farm on his bike, and from there he developed interest in farming.

“After visiting the farm, I developed interest and asked him to give me a piece of land. He also supports me financially and with technical skills. I am now a full-time farmer as it pays more than Okada riding”, Habib Said.

Also, Kaneshi Daniel, a trader at Alaba International Market, who has ventured into rice farming, said he has also introduced it to his friend, who is a lawyer.

He said, “I used to farm in my village but manually and on a small scale. This is the first time I am farming in the South-west and using advance equipment. It was my friend, Bello, who introduced me to it.  I have also introduced many of my friends to it. In fact, I introduced it to a female lawyer who is now part of us. I will harvest my own rice in the next two weeks, and as I am in the farm today, tomorrow I will be in my shop at Alaba,” he said.

Nasiru Abubakar, a graduate who has been in the Bureau De Change business in Lagos for decades has also gone into rice farming.

He told Weekend Trust that after he graduated, he secured a job in his Local Government in Kebbi State, where he was paid N23,000 monthly.

“I read Financial Accounting at a polytechnic. The monthly salary from my local government then couldn’t sustain me and my family. So, I came to Lagos, where I found myself in the Bureau De Change business, trading in foreign currency, but with the challenge we are facing in that business, I had to look for alternative,” he said.