As part of the Agenda of the Food Systems Transformation Routes (FSTP) of the Federal Government, the Kwara State Government, in collaboration with the Agrolima Resilience in Semi -Arid Landscapes (Acresal), has marked the distribution of 14,180 banner of economic trees in 255 schools in the 16 areas of the local government of the State.
Speaking at the event in Ilorin on Monday, the State Commissioner for Planning and Economic Development and the President of the State Steering Committee for FSTP, Chief (Dra.) Mrs. Mary Ronke Arinde said that the project would have educational and economic impacts on schools.
Arinde also said that beneficiaries include 80 primary schools, 170 secondary schools and five tertiary institutions in the state, adding that schools will receive cocoa, anacardos, oil palm and orange seedlings.
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She said the distribution, attended by presidents of the local government, directors of schools and representatives of Heads of Schools, stressed the importance of the initiative for interested parties in the education and agriculture sectors.
“These orchards will not only teach students about crops and their products, but will also serve as research plantations for tertiary institutions beyond academic, and give the president of local governments the opportunity to choose two schools of their choice to benefit from the initiative,” he said.
Dr. Arinde added that, in the long term, the initiative could become a source of income for schools, which allows them to invest in other agricultural companies such as breeding and animal fishing.
He urged to supervise the MDA, the State Board of Universal Basic Education (Subeb), the Teaching Service Commission and the Tertiary Education Ministry to guarantee adequate monitoring and responsibility through follow -up visits.
The commissioner praised Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq for his commitment to food security and praised the acresal team, led by Alhaji Aregbe Shamsudeen, for guaranteeing the delivery of the seedlings.
Kwara’s state planning director Alhaji Kayode Alimi emphasized the role of school gardens in the promotion of agricultural education and served as a practical learning tool for students.
According to Alhaji Kayode, the initiative includes the distribution of gardening tools to accelerate agricultural teaching and the provision of seedlings to students, which allows them to begin their own gardens under regular supervision.
“This effort will not only create an ecological environment, but will also inspire students to develop a passion for agriculture, food security and self -employment,” he said.
In his comments, the Commissioner for the Education and Development of Human Capital in the State, Dr. Lawal Olalekan Olohungbebe, emphasized the need to preserve the trees planted in schools, noting that they play an important role in the protection of the learning environment.
He said that the initiative goes beyond aesthetics, adding that it is a way to protect investments in educational infrastructure.
Dr. Olohungbebe announced that the Ministry will establish a small committee to monitor trees in schools and extract members of the Quality Assurance Office (QAB) and school services, which would inspect the schools and their surroundings.
“On behalf of the Ministry of Education, I promise that as soon as I leave this event, I will not return to the office. I will establish a very small committee to monitor the trees,” he said.
The event was marked with a detailed session on the proper care and management of seedlings to guarantee healthy and sustainability growth..
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