The Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin, has harvested maize from its farm cultivated on 20 hectares of land.
The administration of the establishment had launched the college farm as a part of methods to curb encroachment of its huge land.
The rector of the establishment, Dr Abdul Mohammed who personally supervised the crop harvest disclosed that the establishment had expended N13m on maize and cassava plantation.
“What led to this concept is to discover a means of discouraging or curbing encroachment using our establishment ‘s virgin land for agricultural functions. That is our personal contribution to creating meals accessible and reasonably priced for the polytechnic’s neighborhood and its environs; and the state at giant.
“We cleared 10 hectares of land initially. After we completed the primary 10 hectares, we moved to the second part of one other 10 hectares, making 20 hectares all collectively.
” The farming is carried out by the division of Agricultural Know-how, division of Agricultural Engineering and Bio Environmental, beneath the supervision of a committee,” Mohammed mentioned.
He mentioned a part of the proceeds from the sale of the harvested crops will probably be reinvested into farming, whereas the remaining could be used as a part of internally generated income (IGR) for the establishment.
“We used about N10,000,000 for clearing of the land and about N3,000,000 was used to buy seedlings and cassava stems, ” he added.
The rector mentioned 40 hectares of land could be cleared for cultivation of crops within the subsequent farming season
The consultant of the state commissioner for Tertiary Training Training, Hajia Rodhiat Yahaya counseled the foresight of the rector and his staff which gave start to the college farm.
She mentioned that the initiative will go a great distance in guaranteeing meals safety within the state and deal with the land encroachment challenges going through the establishment.
