Kwara to establish soil testing laboratory

A soil testing laboratory is to be established in Kwara State University, Malete as part of efforts to invigorate the agricultural sector, Governor Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed has said.

He stated this at the inauguration of the state chapter of Youth for Agriculture held at Olusi Village, Asa Local Government Area of the state.

Ahmed, who noted that the laboratory would be first of its kind in the country, said his administration was committed to resuscitating agriculture.

Speaking through the state Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Barrister Anthony Kayode Towoju, the governor said the project, which was embedded in the share prosperity policy of his administration, has been captured in the 2014 budget.

He said farming remains the best option to revive the ailing nation’s economy, adding that youths are crucial to the agricultural revolution.

Ahmed charged the federal government to articulate agricultural policies to ensure food sufficiency and security.

In her inaugural speech, the state Coordinator, Youth for Agriculture, Hajia Zururat Romoke Zubair Hajia Zubair, said their primary target was to produce minimum of 20,000 metric tons of maize and groundnuts each and 75,000 tons of cassava this year.