Enugu Seeks Public,Private Partnership On Agriculture

The Enugu State Government has said that it would partner the private sector to boost food production in the state.

The state Commissioner for Agriculture, Prof Martin Anikwe, said this in Enugu while declaring open a one-day farmers’ workshop on the use and application of liquid fertilisers (AG-ZYME), a product of Zenith Energy Enzymes Limited.

He said that government was no longer keen in subsidising agriculture inputs, but to allow the big players, input dealers and producers to synergise and ensure food sufficiency.

Anikwe said that government interference had affected food production activities in the state.

On the new liquid organic fertilisers, the commissioner urged farmers to embrace the product as it would guarantee bumper harvests and food sufficiency.

“What we recommend actually is what we call an integrated nutrient management approach, where we use different kinds of nutrients to serve our crops and animals.

“All we are saying is that we should embrace A-Zyme. All of them, they have different kinds of merit, so we support all of them.’’

In his remarks, the National Vice President of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Chief Ike Ubaka, said that the association would partner with government to educate its members on the new product.

Ubaka noted that farmers had suffered low or no inputs for some years now, which he said, contributed to low yields, pointing out that with the new project fertiliser, which has 33-40 per cent yield advantage over the inorganic fertilisers, youths would be wooed into agriculture with a buy-back technology.

Ubaka said that with bumper harvest using the fertiliser, farmers would be encouraged to set-up micro cottage processing units to revolutionise agriculture.

Presenting the product, Mr Umaru Attah, the General Manager, (Retails), Zenith Energy Enzymes, said the product which was packaged in five categories was crop and human-friendly and would be sold at the cost of N1,200 per 500ml bottle.