Rivers Confirms Attack On Banana Farm

The Rivers State Government has confirmed an attack on its newly developed banana plantation at Sogho on the Khana local government Area.

The state Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr Emmanuel Chindah, who said this in an exclusive interview with The Tide, said that the plantation was attacked by hoodlums last month.

Mr Chindaha said that  government has  launched an investigation into the incident.

Meanwhile, the Rivers State Government has said that discussions on the resuscitation of the state-owned Delta Rubber Company at Okomoko, Etche, are on-going.

The commissioner for Agriculture, Mr Emmanuel Chindah, who disclosed this in an interview with The Tide at Buguma headquarters of Asari-Toru Local Government Area, said that government intend to bring in the private sector in the management of the company.

He said that once that was done, the company would come back to full production, and will generate a number of employment opportunities for the people of Rivers State.

Mr Chindah also said that government put in place programmes that provide opportunities for smallholder formers to move away from their level of subsistence to a level of entrepreneurship.

“The truth is that, the most important project that I will say, the administration has embarked on, is being able to define an Agric Policy.

“Our Agric policy said that, we must return Agriculture to the extent that it is seen as business. It therefore means that, we must bring the private sector to be key players in the sector,” he stated.

The commissioner argued that the situation has led to the emergence of plantation agriculture across the state, and listed some of these plantations to include the new Risonpalm, the Fish Farms in Buguma, Andoni, Opobo/Nkoro and Ubima and the Rivers Songhai Farm project, amongst others.

Minister of State for Power, Hajiya Zainab Kuchi (left), with the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Chukwuemeka Wogu, at the Nigeria Power Sector Reform Roadmap Technical Retreat in Abuja, last Friday.