Senator Francis Adenigba Fadahunsi, representing Osun East Senatorial District in the National Assembly, has urged Nigerians, particularly youths in Osun State to embrace farming as a means to achieve food security and economic stability.
He warned that the nation must avoid a return to the recent era of widespread hunger and hardship.
Speaking during a media chat at his country home in Ilase, Obokun Local Government Area, on Tuesday, Fadahunsi emphasized that agriculture remains the most reliable solution to rising food costs and unemployment.
“Our people must embrace farming. I am a farmer, and I encourage everyone, no matter how little, to farm. If there is no hunger, automatically we will think right,” he said.
The senator noted that in several areas of Osun, farming activities are still dominated by non-indigenes, urging local youths to take advantage of available farmlands and government-backed agricultural initiatives.
“If you go to our riverine areas, you hardly see Yoruba boys and girls farming; it is the Hausa and others you find there. But around Ife South and Ife North, many of our youths have begun serious farming, and we are supporting them with seedlings. This is the way forward,” he stated.
Fadahunsi expressed optimism that food prices would begin to drop before the end of the year due to the federal government’s renewed agricultural investment and legislative efforts to support farmers. He revealed that additional food palliatives, including rice, would be distributed soon, while encouraging farmers to store harvests ahead of the dry season.
He added that recent deliberations at the National Assembly emphasized the need for state governors to invest in grassroots agricultural development. “Any governor who fails to go deep into local areas to invest in agriculture will lose credibility,” he warned.
Beyond agriculture, Fadahunsi also underscored the importance of continuous voter registration, urging residents including farmers and settlers in his senatorial district to participate actively in the exercise.
“Where you are resident, where you are farming, where your children are schooling, you and your family must register. If you want to belong to us, you must register here,” he said.
The senator assured that Osun would not lag behind in the registration exercise, adding that traditional rulers and community leaders were being mobilized to encourage their people, including migrant farmers, to register.
He stressed that the combined focus on agriculture and political participation would strengthen Osun’s economy, boost food security, and ensure rural communities have a stronger voice in governance.
