Osun senator predicts drop in food prices, asks youths to embrace farming

Francis Fadahunsi, senator representing Osun east, has called on Nigerians, especially youths in the state, to embrace farming as a pathway to food security and economic stability.

Speaking on Tuesday during a media chat at his country home in Ilase, Obokun LGA, the senator described agriculture as 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.

He noted that in several areas of Osun, farming activities are still dominated by non-indigenes, and urged 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,” he said.

“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 said.

Fadahunsi expressed optimism that food prices would begin to drop before the end of the year due to the federal government’s renewed agricultural investments and legislative efforts to support farmers.

He said more food palliatives, including rice, would soon be distributed, while advising farmers to store their harvests ahead of the dry season.

Beyond agriculture, Fadahunsi highlighted the importance of continuous voter registration and urged 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.

He noted that Osun would not lag behind in the registration exercise, adding that traditional rulers and community leaders were being mobilised to encourage their people, including migrant farmers, to register.

Fadahunsi said the combined focus on agriculture and political participation would strengthen Osun’s economy, boost food security, and give rural communities a stronger voice in governance.