KEY POINTS

• Kwara hands over four industrial garri processing machines to Owode Oja.
• Machines sourced from NCAM have a daily processing capacity of 1.5 tonnes.
• A 23km RAAMP road will connect the community to markets.

Seven months after Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq stopped at a garri processing centre in Owode Oja and asked what the community still needed, Kwara State showed up Wednesday with an answer: four industrial machines, no prior notice, and a promise kept.

The Kwara garri machines, sourced from the National Centre for Agricultural Mechanisation and delivered to residents of Owode Oja in Asa Local Government Area, include a cassava mash fryer, a cassava mash sifter, and a cassava grater. Together they can process 1.5 tonnes of cassava daily, a significant step up from the manual methods women in the community have depended on for years.

Chief Press Secretary Rafiu Ajakaye, who delivered the equipment on the governor’s behalf, said the visit was unannounced by design. “Today, without telling them he was coming, His Excellency sent us to deliver four different industrial machines purchased from NCAM,” he told reporters at the handover. He added that experts would follow up to train residents on operating and maintaining the equipment for sustained productivity.

Women Who Once Left for Lagos Can Now Stay Home

For many in Owode Oja, the machines represent more than upgraded equipment. Baale Mallam Kuranga Yakub said women from the community used to leave for Lagos in search of work, but garri production had already begun to reverse that trend.

“Our people, particularly women, used to travel to Lagos to work, but since the establishment of the factory they no longer go there. They stay at home and make their money through this garri production. We are very thankful,” Yakub said.

Mustapha Kadir Olaitan, the community’s youth wing secretary, said the Kwara garri machines would improve both the volume and quality of what residents produce, calling it an opportunity the community had never seen before.

Roads to Tie It All Together

The equipment handover runs alongside a 23-kilometre road project in the area under the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project, jointly funded by the World Bank and the French Development Agency. Ajakaye said the road, which passes through Owode Oja, was critical to making the machines count.

“The governor is not just empowering them; he has also constructed several roads. This demonstrates his commitment to ensuring that what is produced can access the market,” he said.

AbdulRazaq first visited Owode Oja in August 2025 to inspect road projects, and it was during that stop at the garri processing centre that he told aides the next step was mechanisation without disrupting existing livelihoods.