Peoples Redemption Party governorship candidate, Dr Rasaq Saliu, has called for greater investment in agriculture as part of efforts to create jobs and reduce unemployment in Osun State.
Saliu made the call while outlining his agenda during the ARISE 2026 Governorship Election Town Hall meeting on Tuesday ahead of the 2026 Osun governorship election.
He described Osun as predominantly an agrarian society and said the state must take advantage of its agricultural potential to create more opportunities for young people.
“Osun State is popularly known as a civil society state. A state where the majority of people rely on whatever comes from the federal allocation.
“But we have farmers, predominantly. This is predominantly an agrarian society. We want to now look into our agriculture and see how we can encourage more young people of Osun state.”
Saliu said his administration would encourage young people to take up different areas of agriculture, including farming and fishing.
“So take interest in agriculture. Take interest in fishing. Take interest in producing walnuts.
“Take interest in mechanised farming. Take interest in producing more food for us. So that the issue of unemployment, unemployment every day can go down.”
He said the state should maximise its agricultural resources rather than depend on its level of industrialisation.
“We are looking at agriculture. We cannot continue to say because we are not as industrialised as some other states, we leave what we have. We should use what we have in Osun state to get what we need.”
Saliu said developing agriculture could help the state address unemployment while increasing local food production.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
Follow us on:
