Over 1000 youths drawn from the three senatorial zones of the state will be engaged in the rice production value chain; Governor Willie Obiano stated this while launching the 2021 Wet farming season yesterday, June 9, 2021 at Alex Ekwueme square in Awka.
He said that the youths will be engaged in over 1,177 hectares of land developed at Ndikelionwu and Ogbakuba in Orumba North and Ogbaru Local government areas under the ANSG/CBN loan scheme. According to him, the effort is expected to increase the state overall rice production from 440,000Mt in 2020 to 525,000Mt in 2021.
In his address, the commissioner for Agriculture, Hon. Nnamdi Onukwuba thanked the Governor for his well articulated Agriculture Blueprint which he noted has seen so many achievements in the sector. He also thanked the governor for consistently procuring and distributing agro inputs free of charge to farmers since 2014 till date.
The state rice production has increased from 80,000 metric tonnes in 2014 to about 500,000Mt in 2021; Cassava production from 275,832Mt in 2014 to 2,139,944Mt in 2021; Maize production from 15,902Mt in 2014 to 74,939Mt in 2021, said Hon. Onukwuba.
The Honourable commissioner also said that Anambra State had keyed into the World Bank Assisted L-PRES ( Livestock Production and Resilience Support) project which boosts livestock business and expand the production of ‘Efi Igbo’.
In his brief remark, the Minister for Agriculture, Sani Nanunu who was represented by the Anambra State Director, federal ministry of Agriculture, Dr. Arthur Mbuba, praised the Anambra State government under Gov. Willie Obiano for her prompt payments of counterpart fundings. The minister stated that Anambra State is one of the top five states that do well in agricultural sector in the country.
Highlights of the event were the distribution of certified Rice seed, certified maize seed, Cassava stem bundles, inorganic fertilizer and other farm inputs free of charge to the farmers and the Test Run of the tractors procured by the state government to enhance mechanized farming by Gov. Willie Obiano.
Some of the dignitaries in attendance were Speaker, Anambra State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Uche Okafor, Chief Primus Odili, Chief of Staff, Prof. Solo Chukwulobelu, SSG, Anambra Exco members, Ndi Igwe, PGs and others.
