Photo News: Akwa Ibom's New Drive in Agriculture (Posted: April 28, 2010)
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Posted photos and news story are published courtesy of: Akwa Ibom State Governor, Chief Godswill Akpabio has reinvented the agricultural sector in Akwa Ibom State for increased food production and diversification of the State economy. Penultimate week, the Akwa Ibom State government organized an Oil Palm Stakeholders Forum with the theme "Transforming the oil palm sector of Akwa Ibom State."" The forum brought together stakeholders in the agricultural sector to brainstorm on how the State can improve its present rating as one of the foremost agricultural produce state and ensuring that it advances its leading role in production of oil palm for exportation to other states and countries of the world. The forum was very significant to the Akwa Ibom State agricultural community. Before the discovery of the crude oil in commercial quantity, oil palm and agriculture in general was the mainstay of Nigeria"s economy. The famous University of Nigeria, Nsukka was said to have been built from the proceeds of oil palm. But with the discovery of crude oil, agriculture was relegated to the background. The various oil palm plantations in the East, the Cocoa plantations in the West and the groundnut pyramids in the North had disappeared even as the nation struggled to feed its teeming population. According to experts, in about 50 years, crude oil would dry up. They posit that the overdependence of states on federal allocation and the neglect of the agricultural sector which used to be the fulcrum of the Nigerian economy are antithetical to development. It is generally believed that when crude oil dries up, the country would have no option than to return to agriculture. For Governor Godswill Akpabio, his administration"s investment in the agricultural sector is to prepare the state against the much-talked about global food crisis as well as to ensure the strategic engagement of the people of the state in food production. "The importance of agriculture cannot be over-emphasized. We hope to invest in agriculture in order to alleviate poverty among the people, attain food security and boost agricultural production. Our target is to boost production and the marketing of cash crops, staple foods, livestock and fisheries through institutional and infrastructural empowerment of private, small, medium and large-scale crop and livestock farmers," he said. Malaysia is one of the developing countries whose economy is sustained by palm produce. Ironically, they were said to have picked their first seedlings from the present Akwa Ibom State. So it was fitting that the Akwa Ibom state government brought the same Malaysians to chart the course of the new agricultural revolution that is sweeping across the state to position it as the food basket of Nigeria. Officials of Agri Nexus International of Malaysia led by Mr Magaratnam Modtatmby after a tour of palm plantations in the state were unanimous that Akwa Ibom State has the great potentials to become one of the leading oil palm producers in the world. The State Commissioner for Information and Social Re-orientation, Mr Aniekan Umanah said what is happening in the agricultural sector is awesome, a revolution of some sort because the Governor reckons that the State must return to the basics to ensure the development of the non-oil potentials of the State from human capital development in the agricultural sector to actual investment in the development of farm lands, livestock and riverine endeavours to strategic partnership with internal and external stakeholders. The administration is placing agriculture in the front burner. He said relevant financial and material resources have been mobilized in addition to requisite international exposure to ensure that agriculture is brought to enterprise level in Akwa Ibom. The policy thrust of the Akpabio administration, according to the Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Professor Etok Ekanem, is to cause a quantifiable annual growth in the production of cash crops, staple food, livestock and fish through institutional and infrastructural support for private, small, medium and large scale farmers. This has led to revolutionary activities in the agricultural sector of the Akwa Ibom State economy. We gathered that the state government has raised a total of 5000 hectares of oil palm plantation under the Community Project Development Scheme (CPDS). The state government has also assisted private oil palm plantation owners in the state with funds and farm input. A source said the state being the highest producer of palm oil was leaving no stone unturned in maintaining its leading position in production of oil palm. It was not surprising that during the 2009 National Agriculture Show held in Lafia, Nassarawa State, Akwa Ibom State came out tops with a lot of laurels to show for it. Indeed the Commissioner confirmed that "never in the history of this State, has so much official attention and support been given to agriculture as in the life-time of this administration,"" he said. Apart from the Malaysians, we gathered that the state government has entered into understanding with some foreign companies that are interested in investing in commercial agriculture in the state. Such understandings, we learnt has been reached with organizations in Vietnam, the United Kingdom and Israel. According to Prof Ekanem, "Already a memorandum of understanding has been signed by the state government and Trans4mation Agritech UK/Vietnam for commercial production and processing of rice in the state for the export market. The company is funding the project 100%. Akwa Ibom state Government is providing the required minimum of 10,000 hectares of land for the project, and the State is to retain 22% of the net profit of the project,"" he said. We gathered that the project would generate 4,000 jobs for Akwa ibom people, 210 of which have already been recruited for the take-off of the venture. Over the years we learnt that the first major intervention of the Akwa Ibom State government in the livestock and fisheries sub-sector has been through the Accelerated Livestock and Fish Production Programme (ALFIPP) where the government has established three poultry hatcheries and 10 fish farm estates in the state. The fish farm estate is located at Odiok Itam, Itu Local Government Area while the poultry hatchery is located at Mbiaya, Uruan Local Government Area. The programmes, we learnt, is expected to create about 30,000 employment opportunities. The Integrated Farmers" Scheme of the Akpabio administration, according to sources at the state Ministry of Agriculture has recruited, trained and empowered 930 youths with a soft loan facility of N500,000 each to engage in agro-enterprises of their choice. We learnt that government was recruiting a new and more energetic generation of farmers In the state through this Scheme, to systematically replace the ageing population of farmers. We also learnt that given the strategic importance of the IFS, there were plans to establish a permanent training facility for the programme. A major problem confronting Nigerian farmers is how to preserve their perishable food stuff so as to ensure their availability all year round. But as part of his revolutionary approach to agriculture in the State, we learnt the Akpabio administration has put in place the Akwa Ibom State Food Reserve programme as a means of stimulating production by farmers and encouraging value addition. To this end the Commissioner for Agriculture hinted that last year, the government had acquired a 180,000-metric ton food storage and processing infrastructure at Abak at the cost of N1.5 billion for the take-off. As part of its effort to encourage mechanize farming in the state, and in support of the Commercial Agriculture Development Programme, we learnt that the state had acquired and distributed 72 tractors and implements at 40% subsidy, to farmers" cooperative groups through the Community Tractor Hiring Scheme. The State Government, we were informed has committed about N150 million to this scheme. In the area of fertilizer procurement and distribution, our sources said the Akpabio administration has doubled the State indent for fertilizers. We learnt that in the last two years, government procured and distributed over 26,000 metric tons of assorted fertilizers, at 60% subsidy, to genuine farmers across the state. In terms of monetary value, this had cost the State Government about N2 billion. We gathered that the State government through the Ministry of Agriculture had generated over 2,000 direct employment opportunities through its various programmes and projects within the life-span of the administration. Governor Akpabio also confirmed government"s massive investment in agriculture. "In addition, government has put in place a new agricultural programme- the Accelerated Livestock Programme in the state, which has generated employment, reduce hunger and poverty as well as provide raw materials for industries. To this end government has approved the N11.8 billion for the execution of this programme and it will be executed in phases and over 100,000 people are to be provided with economic opportunities to engage in large scale livestock production and aquaculture in the structured fish farm estates," he said. The State government had also partnered with the federal government in the Itu Irrigation and Flood Control Project which will develop and open up about 2,000 hectares of landin the Cross River Basin in Itu for all-year-round agricultural production. It also partnered with the federal government for the construction of 25,000-metric ton grain storage silos at Okobo in Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area as a complement to the state government"s Strategic Food reserve Programme. A source at the State Ministry of Agriculture also hinted that the State Government had also been able to attract three cassava processing centres in Nung Udoe, Ikot Okudom and Ikot Ekpang in Ibesikpo Asutan, Eket and Abak Local Government Areas, respectively. The project, we learnt, was jointly funded by the federal government, the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture. The centres have been taken over by the State Government. Indeed there is a general consensus among farmers and other stakeholders in the State that the agricultural sector of the State under the Akpabio administration has witnessed unprecedented growth and development. Indeed Governor Akpabio has reinvented agriculture in the state which has greatly cushioned the effect of the global food crisis and to show the rest of the country there is more in Akwa Ibom State than crude oil. According to a prominent farmer in the state, Chief Imowo Mbat, "farmers in Akwa Ibom State have never had it so good. There is a total revolution in the agricultural sector such as never been experienced before and this has translated to increased food production to feed Akwa ibom people but the impact of the various agricultural programmes of this administration, I must add, would be felt long after Akpabio may have quit the stage in the state in 2015," he said. Click on any thumbnail to begin the slide show. Click out of it to end it. |
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