Gov. Seyi Makinde of Oyo State says his administration will partner the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) to ensure food security in the state.

A statement issued on Wednesday in Ibadan by the chief press secretary to the Governor, Sulaimon Olanrewaju, indicated that Mr Makinde said this on Tuesday while receiving the director-general of the IITA, Simeon Ehui.

Mr Makinde, who hosted Mr Ehui and his team at the conference room of his office, State Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan, appreciated the IITA for its collaborative efforts with the state since he assumed office in 2019.

He said his administration would partner the IITA to address the challenges of food insecurity, to solve the poverty problem by 50 per cent in the state.

“With the IITA, if we focus on taking care of hunger through food security in our state, then we would have been able to solve half of the challenges ahead of us.

“So, I want to pledge that, even though it is a new DG, as a state, we will continue to work together to tackle food security within our state and within the country and the continent,” he said.

Mr Makinde said his government would continue with the Start Them Early Programme (STEP), which trains secondary school students in Oyo on agribusiness practices.

He said the STEP programme has been very successful, “and I am glad that the state government collaborated with IITA to focus on those youngsters.

“I would like to say that the programme will continue and now, we plan to extend it to other parts of the state. So, we will continue the programme.” the governor stated.

In his remark, the IITA DG who is also the CGIAR regional director, Continental Africa, said the Institute was ready to work with the state government to improve the food security system in the state.

Mr Ehui acknowledged the fact that the food system in Africa was being challenged due to climate change.

He, however, assured the state government of more support from the institute as it partners with it to deliver on its mandates.

(NAN)