Business
Expert Wants Incentives For Palm Farmers
An expert in the agri
cultural sector in Rivers State, Mr Akandu Godwin Nwadwuagwu, has called on the government at all levels to provide incentives and loan facilities for local farmers to boost palm oil production in the state.
The expert made the call while speaking with newsmen shortly after a Palm oil Stakeholders Forum organised by the Port Harcourt Chambers of Commerce Industries Miles and Agriculture (PHCCIMA) in Port Harcourt, recently.
Nwadwuagwu who commended PHCCIMA for organizing the stakeholders forum, said breakthrough in the palm oil industry in Nigeria can be a reality when the real farmers are identified and giving the right incentives and enabling environment to cultivate the products.
The expert who is the Rivers State anchor in oil palm production for Partnership Initiative for Niger Delta Development (PIND), urged government to acquire land in large scale for the palm farmers, adding that Rivers State has enormous potentials for growth in the palm oil industry.
Nwadwuagwu who is also the Treasurer of the Rivers Cooperative Federation, said the body had been involved in the training of rural farmers in best management practices and called for stronger collaboration between government and farmers in the state to achieve the targets of commercial scale production in palm cultivation.
He called for reform in Nigeria agricultural sector to enable local farmers produce in optimal capacity, noting that the economic diversifaction policy of government should be focused more on the expansion of the agricultural sector.
Taneh Beemene