2015: Enugu Mobilises For Food Sufficiency

Enugu State government says it is mobilising and engaging all resources to ensure that the state achieved self sufficiency in food production by the year 2015 and export 80% of the total output by 2020, the state governor, Barrister Sullivan Chime has said.

The Governor who made this known in a keynote address he presented at the just concluded 39th Regular Meeting of the National Council on Agriculture held in Enugu, noted that the state government had put in place all the fundamentals and structures for Agricultural Transformation Agenda even before it started from the Federal Government.

Represented on the occasion by his Deputy, Mr. Sunday Onyebuchi, governor Chime noted that the state government had acquired over 150,000 hectares of land for the 21 Rural Green Cities in the all 17 local government areas of the state.

He added that the state had trained no fewer than 172 youth graduate farmers at Songhai Regional Centre, Porto Novo, Benin Republic who acquired farming knowledge, attitude and skill.

According to him, three major programmes of the agricultural sector in the state which were Songhai Enugu Initiative project for commercial farmers in value chain approach were already operational in addition to others such as micro-small holder farmers’ enhancement project and public private partnership in agriculture.

The Governor, however, said that much as the Enugu State Government has provided a conducive environment for private sector involvement in agriculture investment in the state, it still required Federal Government’s assistance in the areas of provision of irrigation facilities, construction of new dams and rehabilitating of existing ones.

He therefore urged the Minister of Agriculture to extend the training offered to Taraba Youths in rice production in Kenya to Enugu State youths and facilitate the establishment of at least six agro processing centres in Enugu State.

In another development, the State Government has promised to continue to assist the Nigerian Airforce in the relocation of its Base and 305 Flying Training School, Enugu to a new site to enable works to be completed on the Akanu Ibiam International Airport.

Governor Sullivan Chime, made the promise when he received in audience the new Acting Air Officer, Commanding Nigerian Airforce Training School, Kaduna, Air Vice Marshal Christian Ndubisi Chukwu, at the Government House, Enugu.

Earlier in his speech, Air Vice Marshal Chukwu told the Governor that he was in Enugu to inspect facilities at the Air force 305 Training School Enugu and also to meet with officers and men at the Training School.