By Sydney Nweze
Igbo-Eze North Local Government Farmers Empowerment Program 2025 was successfully held on Thursday, May 1, 2025, at the Local Government Headquarters Pavilion, Ogrute, with farmers commending the local government chairman,Hon Uche Ogalla, describing him as the most farmers – friendly chairman in Enugu.
Pix: Igboeze North Local Government chairman, Hon. Uche Ogalla
The event commenced promptly at 10:00 a.m. and drew a large gathering of farmers, agricultural stakeholders, community leaders, and government officials.
The program was officially declared open by the Executive Chairman of Igbo-Eze North LGA, Hon Michael Uche Ogalla, who warmly welcomed all participants.
In his opening remarks, the Chairman of the Local Government ,Hon Uche Ogalla, represented by the Secretary of the LGA, Hon Onyekachi Ben Eya, emphasized the critical role of agriculture in rural development and food security.
He encouraged farmers to embrace modern techniques and make full use of the support provided by the Council Chairman to enhance productivity and sustainability in their farming practices.
“The Executive Chairman, Hon Michael Uche Ogalla, in his usual way of replicating the good works His Excellency Gov. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah is doing at the state level, has packaged this program to bring our farmers up to speed with modern farming techniques. This further demonstrates the fact that agriculture is dear to his heart.
I enjoin you to listen attentively during the session to fully benefit from this sensitization and enhance your agricultural output.
That said, I wish to declare this Pre-Farming Season Sensitization and Farmers Empowerment Program 2025 open.”
The highlight of the event was the transformative Pre-Farming Season Sensitization session, anchored by the CEO of Ezocha Farm Service Ltd., Mr. Chinedu Agbaji.
The session aimed to prepare local farmers for the upcoming planting season through expert guidance, knowledge-sharing, and demonstrations, offering practical insights into crop selection, soil management, and pest control.
In line with the empowerment theme of the event, a wide range of high-quality agricultural inputs was distributed free of charge to participating farmers. These included:
Hybrid maize seeds (yield potential: 5 to 7 tonnes per hectare)
Sweet potatoes (Orange Flesh, Purple, and White varieties)
Improved okra
Egusi (melon)
Habanero and bell pepper seedlings
Certified yam seeds
Vitamin A cassava stems
TME 419 cassava stems
The distribution was conducted in an orderly manner, ensuring that every participant benefited from the initiative.
This gesture underscores the Council Chairman’s commitment to supporting grassroots agriculture and improving livelihoods through direct intervention.
The event concluded with words of appreciation from farmers, many of whom lauded the Executive Chairman for his visionary leadership and dedication to agricultural development in the LGA.
“We are grateful to our Mayor for his visionary leadership,” Mr. Christopher Omeh said, “We have not had it this good before. This is something we have not seen, that the chairman of the LGA is interested in rural farming and is actually supporting us with inputs and capacity building. This shows he is not only a chairman, but a friend of the farmers.”