We’re ready for oil palm revolution – Agric Commissioner

ANAMBRA State Commissioner for Agriculture, Foster Ihejiofor, has identified investment in oil palm economy as one of the cardinal means of lifting people out of poverty in line with Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s Agro-Economic Transformation Agenda....CONTINUE READING

The commissioner gave the indication while having a chat with the press shortly after the event to mark Governor Soludo’s one-year anniversary and presentation of his scorecard to the people of the state at the International Convention Centre, Awka, recently…..CONTINUE READING

Dr Ihejiofor stated that Governor Soludo’s Agro-Economic Transformation Agenda was aimed at building a secure economic future for the citizens by re-enacting Dr M. I. Okpala’s Oil Palm Revolution, creation of the Anambra Coconut Economy and valorisation of redundant vegetative ecosystem.

He commended the former President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, who also attended the event, for investing in agriculture and his words of encouragement, reiterating the commitment of the state government to sustain its agricultural intervention measures to fulfill its mandate of ensuring abundant food supply for the populace.

He said, ‘we have completed the first phase of the Oil Palm Revolution and Coconut Economy by distributing 220,000 oil palm seedlings and 150,000 coconut seedlings to ndi Anambra for agricultural development.

‘This is just the first phase of the project, as the state government intends to plant 1 million oil palm and coconut seedlings annually.

‘Indeed, the state Ministry of Agriculture under my watch is assiduously working to actualise the governor’s vision of a liveable, prosperous and smart mega city with food security, food as medicine, food safety and abundant local content for both industrial raw materials and commercial activities.

‘More importantly, most of our farmers have made a swift transition from season farming to all-year-round farming with increasing use of irrigation and the adoption of global best practices in agriculture.

‘Our partnerships with major agro-investors have been hugely successful, drawing the attention of the entire agricultural establishment in Nigeria to Anambra State’, he added.

He revealed that the state government had set the stage for integrating composting centres to host the production unit for black soldier fly, mushroom and effective microorganisms.

The commissioner used the occasion to appeal to well-to-do Nigerians to continue to render assistance to the 2022 flood victims, particularly the farmers, to enable them to overcome their challenges and bounce back to food production.