DIPLOMAN TIMES

Ekiti State has reported continued growth in agricultural production, with rice, maize, cowpea, tomato and okra output increasing in 2025, while the cultivated area for yam and cassava expanded. The state also reported cassava production exceeding 2.1 million metric tonnes and described itself as the leading rice producer in the South West. The reported agricultural performance was attributed to sustained efforts centred on farmers and food security, with the state government highlighting the gains as evidence of progress within its agricultural sector.

The Ekiti State government publication reported that agricultural production in the state recorded gains during 2025 across several major food crops. Rice, maize, cowpea, tomato and okra production were identified as having increased, while the area devoted to yam and cassava cultivation expanded. The report presents the changes as part of a broader agricultural trajectory rather than as a single-season intervention. The emphasis is on production outcomes and cultivated land expansion, with farmers and food security identified as central elements of the state's agricultural approach.

Cassava was identified as a particularly significant component of the reported production increase. The state said cassava output had crossed 2.1 million metric tonnes. The reported volume indicates the scale of cassava production in the state, although the supplied account does not provide the previous year's comparable output, the exact production methodology or the geographical distribution of the crop. The factual claim supported by the source is therefore that 2025 cassava production exceeded 2.1 million metric tonnes, alongside an expansion of cassava farmland.

The state also reported that Ekiti remains the top rice producer in the South West. This places rice production within the state's wider agricultural positioning and connects the reported increase in rice output to a broader regional claim. The source does not provide comparative production figures for the other South-West states or a precise ranking table, so the regional position remains a claim made in the state government's account rather than a ranking independently quantified within the submitted report.

The agricultural gains were attributed to consistent efforts that place farmers first and focus on food security. The report presents this approach as the underlying explanation for the increases in production and cultivated farmland. It does not identify individual schemes, budget allocations, farm-input quantities, irrigation projects or other specific interventions that generated the reported changes. Consequently, the source supports the broad policy framing of farmer-focused agricultural development and food security but does not provide enough detail to attribute the production increases to any single programme.

As of October 7, 2026, the Ekiti State government publication reports higher 2025 production of rice, maize, cowpea, tomato and okra, expanded yam and cassava farmland, cassava output exceeding 2.1 million metric tonnes and a continuing claim to leadership in South-West rice production. The account presents these developments as progress in agriculture and food security. The specific production figures supplied are limited to the cassava threshold of more than 2.1 million metric tonnes, while detailed comparative crop statistics and programme-level attribution are not provided in the source.