The Anambra State Government has pledged to support flood-affected farmers in order to maintain the state’s food supply.
Dr. Foster Ihejiofor, the State Commissioner for Agriculture, revealed this at a press conference held in Awka on Sunday to mark the 2022 World Food Day.
He said the government will help the affected farmers by providing all the necessary farm equipment and crop seedlings to allow them to easily return to their farms after the flooding has subsided.
He emphasised that the timing of this year’s celebration coincided with the devastation of many farms in various sections of Anambra State, particularly the agricultural districts, by the flood calamity. Additionally, the threat came at a time when the nation’s agriculture industry was in decline.
Chukwuma Soludo’s Agro-Economic Transformation Agenda, according to State Governor Ihejiofor, aims to create a secure economic future for the people by reenacting Dr. M. I. Okpala’s Oil Palm Revolution, developing the Anambra Coconut Economy, and valuing our redundant vegetative ecosystem.
“We just 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 is assiduously working to acqualise Soludo’s vision of a liveable, prosperous and smart mega city with food security, food as medicine, food safety and abundant local content for industrial raw materials and local content for commercial activities.
More significantly, with the increased use of irrigation and the adoption of international best practices in agriculture, the majority of our farmers have quickly made the switch from seasonal farming to all-year-round farming.
“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.
The state government, he revealed, has prepared composting centers to house the production facility for black soldier flies, mosh pits, and efficient microbes.
The Commissioner should take this opportunity to urge wealthy Nigerians to continue helping flood victims, especially farmers, so that they can quickly return to their lands following the disaster.
Meanwhile, with the opening of a new 100,000MT/year Grain Quality Enhancement Centre and 30,000MT storage capacity warehouse at Zaria-Kano Highway, Kaduna State, AFEX, Nigeria’s top commodities market participant, celebrated World Food Day on Friday.
The plant is a symbol of AFEX’s reaffirmed dedication to infrastructure projects that reduce post-harvest losses, reinforce quality and standardisation standards in grain value chains, and enhance the lives of primary producers by enabling them to earn more money from higher-quality grains.