`We ‘ll take advantage of agric potential to grow Edo economy – Gov. Obaseki



Gov. Godwin Obaseki of Edo on Wednesday said that his administration would take advantage of the vast opportunities in the agricultural sector to grow the economy.

Obaseki made this known when he received the executive members of the Cassava Stakeholders Association of Nigeria (CSAN) at Government House, Benin.

Represented by Mr Philip Shaibu, his Deputy, Obaseki said that investing in agriculture was critical to the economic development of the state.

He said that his government was in the position to make Edo an economic hub and the eight biggest economy in the World after Lagos state.

The governor said that partnering with agricultural association such as CSAN, would assist government to actualise the vision of food sufficiency and job creation.

“The soil across the state are fertile and rich for the cultivation of both food and cash crops that will enhance economic development.
Related image

“Crops like fruits in Edo Central, oil palm in Edo South and groundnut in Edo North, all will do well because of our fertile soil and geographical location.

“We excel even in rice farming in Edo Central, South and North because of the rich soil in the state. Cassava is not left out as our soil enhances its productivity in the state,’’ he said.

He said that the production of cassava was important as it serve as both food crop and raw materials for industrial use.

Earlier, the President of CSAN, Chief Benjamin Adebayo, who congratulated Obaseki on his victory at the 2016 polls, said the visit was to intimate him of the existence of the association and its programmes.

Adebayo said the association was an initiative of the Federal Government to increase the production level of cassava and tackle the problem of high unemployment rate in the country.

Highlighting the roles and benefit of the association, he said that the Cassava industry alone would absorb more than the promised 200,000 jobs for youths in the state.

He said that agriculture should be seen as the cardinal programme that would help to create employment and improve food security.


Adebayo pledged the association’s readiness to contribute its quota to assist the present administration to achieve its vision of creating jobs for youths.  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tomato disease outbreak: Institute appeals for research funding

The National Horticultural Research Institute, Ibadan, has appealed for funding to carry out research and create awareness on the tuta absoluta pest on tomatoes. The Institute’s Head of Vegetable Programme, Dr Olagorite Adetula, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan on Friday that there was an urgent need to tackle the problem to save the economy. Adetula said the institute needed money to do surveillance survey of the pest/damage, ascertain the impact of the damage and proffer solution for eradicating the pest. She appealed to the Federal Government to help the institute get pheromones to lure and trap the pests and distribute to farmers. ``Spraying insecticides is not the best, the pest has high production rate, some of them can escape while spraying it and they will be resistant to the insecticide thereby causing us more cost. ``The pheromones can be used for six to eight weeks before changing it, it is very effective, the pest has short life cycle, wit
Read more

10,000 women farmers to be engaged in ECOWAS rice project – official

Image
 Mr Richard Olafare, the President, Seed Entrepreneurs Association of Nigeria (SEEDAN) says 10,000 women will be engaged in the recently inaugurated Rice Seed Up-Scaling Project. This is contained in a presentation on the project made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Friday. Olafare said 8,000 youths would also be engaged in the scaling project. According to him, the number of women and youths represented 50 per cent and 40 per cent respectively of the 20,000 farmers that will participate in the project. NAN reports that the project is an initiative of the West Africa Seed Programme (WASP) in support of the ECOWAS Rice Offensive Programme that was inaugurated in 2014. Among other objectives, it is targeting the production of 60,000 metric tonnes of paddy rice for Nigeria by December 2017, using 1,200 certified seeds. The project is being implemented by SEEDAN in collaboration with the West and Central Africa Council for Agricultural Re
Read more

NEGPRO project can create more jobs with inclusion of meat production— Badmus

•Tuns Farm leads food safety, quality system audit The Chairman , Tuns Farms Nigeria, Asiwaju Olatunde Badmus, has disclosed that the proposed one million jobs expected to be created through the National Egg Production Scheme (NEGPRO) can be doubled if extended to meat production. He made this known when a team from the office of the Vice President, Federal Ministries of Agriculture, Health and Education at the company’s headquarters in Osogbo, the Osun state capital recently. Olatunde Badmus, while sharing the company’s experience on chicken inclusion in the Osun state’s school meal program which the company has been handling since the introduction of the school feeding program four years ago, said they can achieve so much more in terms of job creation through meat production “As we speak, six state governors among who are Kebbi and Borno, have signalled their government’s preparedness to look into this and have invited TUNS farm to their states to discuss modalities for
Read more