The Kwara State's drive to grow commercial agriculture got a boost last week with the presentation and signing of a memorandum of understanding between the state government and Cornell University of New York on the Kwara State Agriculture Masterplan (KAMP).

Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed, who led the state's delegation to the presentation of the KAMP document and the signing of the MoU in New York, signed on behalf of the state while W. Ronnie Coffman, Cornell's director of International Programme, signed for the university.

It would be recalled that in furtherance of its robust drive to strengthen the state's capacity for agriculture-driven development, the Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed inaugurated the Kwara Agriculture Modernisation Plan Team that would fashion out a five-year master plan for the Kwara State Agricultural City (KSAC).

The eight-man team, which comprised three professors of agriculture from Cornell University and their counterparts from the University of Ilorin and the Kwara State University, KWASU, as well as Abayomi Ogunshola, senior special assistant on investment promotion, policy and strategy to the governor, were mandated to fashion out a five-year master plan for the KSAC.

KSAC is designed to establish the state as the agricultural hub in the West African sub-region by building on the state's strengths in the sector.

The document presents a clear road map for the expansion, funding and impact of commercial agriculture in the state for the next five years. It is the product of a three-month collaborative research by Cornell professors and their Nigerian counterparts led by Abdulrasheed Na'Allah, vice chancellor of the Kwara State University.

Explaining the significance of the MoU, Coffman said Kwara made history by being the first state government in the world to succeed in partnering the university renowned globally for its expertise in agriculture.

"It is the first time this university is signing a MoU with any state government. We are proud of this partnership and we are confident that the MoU will produce good results, "he said.

Governor Ahmed, in his address, pledged to implement the document to the letter, stressing that his administration would go beyond the conventional system of measuring input and output to measuring the impact of the measures being taken to "make Kwara the agriculture hub of West Africa."

The document presents a clear road map for the expansion, funding and impact of commercial agriculture in the state for the next five years.

It is the product of a three-month collaborative research by Cornell professors and their Nigerian counterparts led by Abdulrasheed Na'Allah.

The governor lauded the pioneering efforts of his predecessor, Bukola Saraki, in commercial agriculture, noting that the opportunity of continuity in governance in the state had made it possible for him to build on the foundation laid by the former governor.

In his goodwill message, Saraki commended the Ahmed administration for producing KAMP, expressing confidence that Ahmed, having served under the immediate past administration as commissioner for finance and later economic development, understood the vision and benefits of the agricultural revolution in Nigeria being championed by the state.

Impressed by the lofty ideas of KAMP and the signing of a MoU to drive its implementation, the director of USAID in Nigeria, Sharon Pauling, who personally attended the signing ceremony, pledged immediate support for the programme.

"We are looking into having a partnership with Kwara on rice and fish production. We are expecting to see Kwara as a leader in our drive to support food production in Nigeria," the USAID chief said.

The signing ceremony was also witnessed by members of the diplomatic community in New York and leading members of the Kwara State Association of Nigeria, North American chapter (KSANG), and the leading members of Cornell University.

The governor said, "Business in Nigeria makes sense; Kwara State has all you need to gain a strong foothold nationally and regionally."

It would be recalled that in its effort to revolutionalise agriculture in the state, the government of Olusola Saraki created Shonga Farms as a "Special Purpose Vehicle" in order to gain financing from five banks through debt and equity financing options.

He made contact with the Commercial Farmers Union of Zimbabwe. By 2004, a MoU had been signed, and by 2005, after the state stepped in to clear land and provide fertilizers and insecticides, 13 Zimbabwean farmers were running five dairy, four poultry and four mixed farms in the new Shonga project, each with 1,000 hectares of land under a 25-year renewable lease.

The 'Shonga' farms now employ up to 4,000 people at harvest time.