Advertisement

The United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has expressed readiness to partner with Enugu State government on food production and other agricultural developments through provision of technical assistance to improve the state’s agro-allied sector.

The UK body, which through its Propcom+ project, provides climate resilience programme and supports sustainable, smart agriculture and forestry transformation, gave the assurance, Tuesday, when the Team Leader, Dr Adiya Ode, led a delegation of the organization on a courtesy visit to the Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah, at the Government House, Enugu.

Advertisement

She said the programme is a nine month-programme which started in 2023 and ended in January with nine states benefitting from the assistance it provided, adding that the programme focused on improvement on agricultural productivity and ways to reduce conflicts over natural resources.

Ode disclosed that Enugu State picked interest in the programme because it saw the work they were able to do in some states like Edo State. She said they would provide technical assistance to the state government in areas of improved forestry resources, improved land resources of the state, and also rehabilitate the resources to produce commodities which will include oil palm, cashew, among other agricultural produce.

According to her: “You know Enugu State is one of the states that have some forest resources and some of those resources can be used for farming and for non-timber forestry.

Advertisement

“Enugu State is desirous of improving the management of these resources. So, Propcom+ will assist Enugu in the use of its land and its utility of forestry. We will be providing some technical supports, so that Enugu State can work out how that forest resource is used. This will ensure that the commodities that it produces can benefit the small holders and farmers. So, I think the indigenes will stand to benefit from this work.”

Responding, Governor Mbah described the visit as a huge opportunity for Enugu State to maximize and boost the state’s agricultural production adding that “the state government is committed to the project and to the things they shared, what they set out as forest activities within the agricultural space, those areas for positive preservation, ensuring that they are not subject to random activities that may affect the quality of our forestry.”

The governor, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, said the Commissioner for Agriculture and Agro-industrialization, Engr. Patrick Ubru, was working diligently to have a holistic plan toward technical advisory support in the area that they may not have competence in the state, noting, that they were very mindful that the plan would work.

“We do not take it for granted that FCDO is including us in this. We want to utilize every opportunity and make sure that our relationship is mutually beneficial. This is very important to us” he said.

Advertisement

The governor also said the state would be prioritizing the outcome of the intervention even as the administration anticipated more robust partnership and bigger intervention.

Enugu Gov’t approves 15000 hectares for food security, seals PPP deal with Ugwuanama Farms

As one of the measures to ensure food security and sufficiency in the state, the administration of Governor Peter Mbah has approved the leasing of 15000 hectares of land for Ugwuanama Farms Limited for agricultural production in Isi-Uzo local government area of the state.

Advertisement

The state government, which also sealed a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) with the company through the execution of a memorandum of understanding (MoU), stated that the farmland would be used specifically for the industrial cultivation of cassava, rice, maize, banana plantation, oil palm production, yam, and other produce.

Speaking shortly after signing the MoU on Tuesday at the Government House, Enugu, the state governor, Dr. Peter Mbah, described the partnership as a significant milestone towards achieving the promise of the government to create an enabling environment for agro-industrialisation.

Governor Mbah, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof Chidiebere Onyia, said the government was expecting to see those milestones earlier agreed with the Farms as a partnership, adding that an increased yield in the state production will increase Enugu’s gross domestic products (GDP).

He stressed that the state has both comparative and competitive advantages in some mainstream crops because of its arable land, which would also create jobs and raise the purchasing power of the people.

Earlier, the Chief Executive Officer of Ugwuanama Farms Limited, Alhaji Sanni Nnaji, disclosed that they had started cultivation and production on a large scale. “As we are producing, we will also be processing. Our target is to crash the cost of food so that we have cheap food affordable for everyone to eat.

“Again, our aim is to get our growers, get youths, women back to farm. Apart from 15000 hectares, I have done it in Isi-uzo with 1,500 farmers and we are going to increase our workforce. We are going to have over 5,000 farmers cultivating their own farmlands. We already established a cassava processing plant in Isi-Uzo and we have cultivated cassava of more than 1000 hectares. So, when cassava is due for processing, we will start cultivation immediately.”

Nnaji said they focused mainly on rice, cassava, oil palm, maize and yam production, expressing the possibility of expanding their cultivation and production.

On the number of jobs to be created, Nnaji explained that they were expecting between 200,000 to 300,000 jobs within the next two years.

Also speaking on the management of the farms, he said they had plans to bring in expatriates for their technical-know-how. “We have a lot of partners who are coming .We are bringing in a lot of machines. We are going to develop a very good smart farm in Isi-Uzo”.

On his part, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Agro-industrialization, Engr. Patrick Ubru, said the state government has ensured adequate security (military base) in Isi-Uzo council area for the protection and safety of lives and business.

He added that the government was doing enough to make the state attractive to investors by derisking investment flow. “The government is acquiring the land, making it available for farmers in commercial quantity, and also creating access road to facilitate movements”.