Oyo Assembly Appeals To Makinde To Establish Cashew Processing Factory in Ogbomoso

Esan Oyeniyi, Ibadan

The Oyo State House of Assembly has called on Governor Seyi Makinde to harness the international business potentials of cashew in Ogbomoso zone by establishing a processing factory or industry for the plant in the area.

The call was made by the House while deliberating on a motion brought before it by member representing Oriire State Constituency in Ogbomoso, Hon Johnson Ogundele. The House appealed to the State Government to incorporate Oriire Local Government and the entire Ogbomosoland in its Agricbusiness policy and initiative.

Hon Johnson Ogundele while presenting the motion recalled that one of the requests put before Governor Seyi Makinde during his second term electioneering campaign by the people of his Constituency was for the State Government to help establish a Cashew processing factory in the area.

The motion revealed that the volume of cashew plantation and production in Oriire Local Government and Ogbomoso as a whole is higher than in any other state in the Southwest as the area can boast of thousands of hectares of cashew farms.

According to the motion, the quality of cashew plant and fruit in Ogbomosoland is the best in Oyo State and one of the best in the country. ” Cashew has been a major exported agricultural produce that has contributed to foreign exchange earnings and Foreign Direct Investment in the country. This could however be maximized in Oyo State if Cashew nuts are processed locally before being exported to the developed countries for a comparative advantage” The motion read.

He expressed optimism that the State Governor would fulfill all his election campaign promises to the people of Ogbomoso. The House commended the Agribusiness development initiative of the State Governor and reiterated that Oyo State is blessed with diverse resources that could be harnessed for the economic prosperity of the State.

Other lawmakers from Ogbomoso zone, the Majority Leader, Hon Sanjo Adedoyin, Hon Bisi Oluranti and Hon Abideen Adeoye also lent their voices to motion with a passionate appeal to the Oyo State Government to explore the economic potentials of Cashew nuts in the zone.