Asaba: To make Delta State take its pride of place in food production in Nigeria, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa has inaugurated a 14-man Project Management Team for the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Anchor Borrowers Programme.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony which took place at the Government House, Asaba, during the weekend, Governor Okowa disclosed that the programme was designed to encourage farmers to move from subsistence farming to commercial agriculture, noting that the state has the capacity to feed the country and also, produce for export.
The Commissioner for Agriculture in the state, Hon. Austine Chikezie is the chairman of the team which has Mr. Mathew Badaiki, representing the CBN as co-chairman while Mr. Kingsley Emu, Mr Augustine Oghoro, Mr George Toyin, Mr Sebastine Olomu, and Mr. Godwin Ojobu as members.
Other members of the team include, Barr. Raymos Guanah, Mr. Ambrose Nwabuzor, Mrs. Suzan Agbala, Mrs. D. O. Osadebay, Mr. Ben Agamah, Mr. Charles Igweku and Mr. F. J. Felix.
“This programme is part of the national programme of the CBN to encourage farmers to produce more for the country because, it will in the long run increase the agricultural sector and it is our hope that it will also help grow our agricultural production and our farmers will be encouraged to go into more profitable farming,” he said.
“With this programme, we will be able to grow our farmers from their subsistence nature to profitable farming, he said.”
The governor urged farmers in the state to harness the benefits of the programme and concentrate on agricultural productions in the areas they have comparative advantage, especially, rice, cassava production and its value chain, aquaculture and aqua business, and oil palm production.
An elated Governor Okowa expressed hope that in the nearest future, farmers in the state would be in position to export agricultural produce to other countries of the world.
Responding on behalf of the team, Hon. Chikezie thanked Governor Okowa for creating avenues for Deltans to tap into the gains of agriculture, noting that the CBN Anchor Borrowers’ Programme was a good initiative that would boost food production in the state.
The agricultural commissioner assured the governor and Deltans that members of the team would work selflessly to realise the aims and objectives of the programme in the state.
Meanwhile, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa has expressed confidence that a vigorous pursuit of well formulated agricultural policies and programmes will end the challenges of adverse climate change and food shortages in the world, adding that sustainable agricultural practices that engender positive improvements in the ecosystem and management of natural resources can reverse the festering global environmental degradation.
Okowa stated this in Asaba while declaring the 2016 World Food Day Celebration open. The event, which held at the Cenotaph, had a central focus on “Climate is changing. Food and Agriculture Must Too”.
Represented by the Commissioner for Special Duties, Government House, Mr. Henry Sakpra, the governor observed that agriculture is the bedrock of nation building and that the state is abundantly blessed to make the sector the lead of its economy, noting, however, that there has been a poor management of the sector towards desirable ends.
He disclosed that studies have shown that the inability to sustain natural resources is due to the long term effects of human activities; which increase the concentration of green house gases in the atmosphere, adding that the process has resulted in adverse climate change.
Governor Okowa expressed the undying resolve of the current administration to wholly sustain a vibrant agricultural tempo in the state, noting that “the Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) approach being advocated by FAO is already in practise in the state”.
While describing the event as a launch pad for government, farmers and stakeholders in the agricultural industry to exchange ideas and map out a veritable platform in the collective fight against hunger and poverty in Nigeria, Okowa called on local and international investors to explore the state as their investment destination.
Earlier, the state Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Hon. Austine Chikezie averred that to achieve stability in food production and prices, there is the urgent need for a political will and a change in the unproductive conventional ways of agricultural practices.
