Being the Address by His Excellency Seyi Makinde, FNSE, Executive Governor of Oyo State at the Groundbreaking Ceremony of the Oyo State Agribusiness Industrial Hub, Ijaiye, Ibadan Zone, Oyo State on Saturday, 2 August 2025

Let me start by saying, today is about promises kept.

When we launched the Oyo State Roadmap for Sustainable Development 2023–2027, we made a clear commitment: to reposition agriculture as a centrepiece of our economic transformation. Not as a subsistence activity, but as a commercial force — creating jobs, attracting investment, and securing food systems.

The groundbreaking of this Special Agro-Industrial Processing Hub at Atan-Ijaiye is a strategic step on that journey.

This is not our first move. We began in Fasola, in the Oyo Zone, where 12 agribusinesses are already operational. We continued in Eruwa, in Ibarapa Zone. And now, we are here in Ibadan Zone, ensuring that the benefits of agribusiness development reach every region of our State.

These hubs are not standalone structures. They are deliberately designed as interconnected anchors of our agribusiness ecosystem. They bring producers closer to processors, and link farms to markets. They reflect our belief that agriculture is not just about food — it is about infrastructure, it is about enterprise, and it is about national relevance.

I am pleased that Dr Debo Akande, our DG at OYSADA, has already highlighted the technical details and expected impact of this project. But let me add this: the success at Fasola has proven that this model works. The Fasola Agribusiness Transformation Centre has changed the local economy. Young people are returning to the land. Businesses are forming. Poverty is giving way to prosperity.

Within three years, 12 new agribusiness companies were established in the hub. It has attracted new investment of about N17 billion, primarily in new factories processing diverse crops produced in the State. We have another N29 billion private sector agro-industry investment outside the hub in different regions of Oyo State, focusing on sugar production, cassava to sorbitol, gluten-free High Quality Cassava Flour (HQCF), cashew processing, agricultural equipment production and leasing, and so on. These businesses established in our State within the last six years, support close to 27,000 farmers cumulatively.

This is what drives us.

We are building a future where agriculture feeds not just homes, but industries. Where it does not just sustain families, but entire economies.

And this is why this SAPZ is important.

Because we cannot build a resilient economy if we neglect the sector that employs the most people, uses the most land, and offers the greatest potential for inclusive growth. And we cannot talk about national food security without regional hubs like this one pulling their weight.

Let me also say this: these projects would not be possible without partnership. I want to thank the African Development Bank Group, led by my brother, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, for believing in Oyo State’s vision and supporting this dream. The Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones programme is proof that when local leadership aligns with continental ambition, great things happen.

I also appreciate the Federal Government, our technical partners, and all stakeholders who have played a role in getting us here — especially the communities who have welcomed this project with open arms.

Here in Ijaiye, you will soon experience the same economic lift that Fasola has seen, and Eruwa is already preparing for. It will not be overnight, but it will come because the foundation is being laid today.

To our farmers — help is no longer on the way. Help is here.
To our investors — the environment is ready. The time is now.
And to our youth — opportunity is knocking, and this time, it is local.

Let today’s event be a reminder to every citizen of Oyo State: governance is not theory. It is action. And when we say we will deliver, we mean it.

I will now yield the stage for the representative of His Excellency, the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Kashim Shettima GCON, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari CON, for his remarks. After that, we will proceed to the unveiling of the commemorative plaque and turning of the sod for the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone, Ijaiye.

Thank you, and God bless you.

Seyi Makinde

2 August 2025