Ondo State is pushing agriculture down to its smallest administrative units, taking farm interventions into all 203 political wards based on what each one produces and how much it can grow. Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa disclosed the plan at the FirstBank Agric and Export Expo in Lagos, according to The News.
Ward by Ward
The governor said the ward-level approach is meant to match support to local strengths rather than impose a single template across the state, part of a wider drive to grow, process and sell produce within Ondo. Work produced in the state should increasingly be processed there, create jobs there and compete confidently in markets across Nigeria and beyond, he said, as The News reported. The stated goal is a farm-to-market chain that keeps more value close to where crops are grown.
Beyond Raw Cocoa
Ondo is one of Nigeria's leading cocoa environments, and Aiyedatiwa used the platform to argue that growing the beans is no longer enough. Producing cocoa is not sufficient on its own, he said, calling for processing that captures far more of the crop's value, according to Megastar. The point matters because Nigeria still exports most of its cocoa in raw or lightly processed form, leaving the bulk of the profit to be captured by grinders and chocolate makers abroad.
One State's Answer to a National Problem
Aiyedatiwa's programme fits the theme that ran through the expo, "From Farm to Global Markets," where governors pressed for stronger value chains and export-oriented investment rather than a narrow focus on primary production, according to Megastar. The Niger State governor warned at the same event that Nigeria's food import bill could reach $4 billion this year, while Lagos spoke of building cold-chain and logistics capacity, as the News Agency of Nigeria and Nairametrics reported. Against that backdrop, a state taking farm support to all 203 wards is a bet that broad-based production, tied to processing, can lift both incomes and supply.
Whether ward-level farming and local processing ease the cost of food is a question best answered at the market stall. FoodPrices Nigeria tracks verified retail prices across Lagos markets and follows the state programmes that shape the national supply picture behind those prices.