Taraba govt’s N2bn Greenhouse project employs 200 youths – Official


Mr Isaac Mela, the Permanent Secretary, Taraba Ministry of Agriculture, says the N2 billion Greenhouse project of the state government has so far employed 200 youths.
Mela said this in Jalingo on Thursday at the 5th edition of “Face the Press’’ programme.
He noted that apart from the employment opportunities which the project had generated, it would also supply good vegetables to the citizens.
He said that the project would also serve as a centre for practical studies for students, especially those studying agriculture in higher institutions across the country.
The permanent secretary said that the government sourced funding for the project from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), adding that the project was designed to pay back the loan over time.
Besides, Mela said that the state government’s partnership with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) had yielded good results in terms of infrastructural projects like access roads to farms and increased production of rice and cassava.

He noted that IFAD had constructed over 25 kilometres of access roads, which connected farming areas in Gassol, Wukari and Karim Lamido Local Government Areas of the state.
“The state government’s partnership with IFAD is one of the best things that happen to farmers in our state.
“IFAD has so far constructed 25 kilometres of access roads linking rural farms, while training hundreds of farmers on good agronomic practices and distributing farm inputs to boost rice and cassava production,’’ he said.
Mela said that a similar partnership with FADAMA had also yielded good results in rice production.
He said that the government had distributed improved seedlings of various crops to farmers to enhance productivity and encourage mass production.
He said that the government had also concluded arrangements to procure assorted fertilisers from Jigawa Fertiliser Blending Plant for distribution to farmers before the commencement of the rainy season.
Speaking on the “Face the Press’’ programme, Mela said that the initiative was aimed at enhancing transparency, accountability and good governance via a weekly interaction between government officials and the media.



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