….3,000 Cocoa farms on the way
As part of its determination to improve agricultural production and grow the economy of the state from 4.4bn Dollars to 30Billion Dollars, Enugu state Government has commenced the payment of insurance premium to farmers to cushion the effects of pest, crop diseases and climate change on farm lands. The state government has also set up seed laboratory in the ministry of Agriculture for better production.
This was disclosed by the state Commissioner for Agriculture and Agro-Allied production, Dr Patrick Ubru while speaking with newsmen at the South East Zonal Consultative Forum for the Review of National Gender Policy in Agriculture for Nigeria and it’s strategic plan of Action 2025-2030 held on Friday in Enugu.
He said , the insurance is very important, explaining that ,” The vulnerability of climate has affected agriculture a lot. The payment of premium is to use it to protect the farmers.”
Pix: Dr. Ubru,
The Commissioner also disclosed that the state government has set up seed laboratory to test the seeds and determine their condition before planting. He added that a seed gallery was also set up for easy access to seeds .
Dr. Ubru said all forms of crops grow in Enugu, revealing that there is Cocoa initiative, with 30,000 seedlings of cocoa available in the state, adding that the target is to have over 3,000 cocoa farms in the state.
The Commissioner said Governor Peter Mbah was very much determined to grow the economy of the State to 30 Billon Dollars and had put infrastructure on ground. The Governor he said, will in a date that will be announce date for the commissioning of farm estate.
According to the Commissioner, Governor Mbah is developing 260 farm estates in the 260 political wards in the state. He said 200 hectares of land will be used for farming in each ward and each farmer will be given one hectre of land for farming and extension services will be provided for farmers.
Author: Maureen Ikpeama