Governor Udom Emmanuel has formally flagged off a farmers’ enumeration exercise in Akwa Ibom state with a charge on people to take agricultural activities as serious business.
The State Chief Executive assured that with such cooperation, agriculture would become a major driver of the state’s economy thereby bringing to an end, the overdependence on government for survival.
The governor who spoke at his office in Uyo, was enumerated as the number one cocoa and plantain farmer in the state in the ongoing farmer’s Enumeration exercise by the Akwa Ibom Investment company limited (AKIICORP).
Mr Emmanuel said the scheme said there was need for the people to harness the resources in the state and create wealth out of Agriculture.
While thanking the Akwa Ibom Investment Company limited-AKIICORP for driving his vision in the agricultural sector, Governor Emmanuel assured them of his support to the realization of their full cycle food value chain project that will ensure availability of staple food across the state.
Earlier in his address, the Executive Director of AKIICORP, Pastor Umo Eno had said the essence of the enumeration exercise is to encourage the elite class and the teaming youths to embrace agriculture as a business and as a post COVID-19 economy recovery growth plan following the decline in oil revenue.
Pastor Eno further disclosed that the exercise commenced on the 25th of May 2020 across the 31 local government areas of the state with about 1500 enumerators deployed to cover almost 2500 villages in the state, adding that the data collation when completed will serve as a major customer base for the about to be commenced Ibom FADAMA micro finance bank.
He further stressed that at the successful completion of the exercise, they intend to encourage farmers to produce specific food crops like cassava in commercial quantity, which the government will off take and supply to all the Garri processing mills in the state to produce Garri, Fufu and starch among others at affordable prices.
The AkIICORP boss again stressed that the directorate is irrevocably committed to the successful implementation of the completion agenda of the Udom Emmanuel led administration as far as Agricultural investments in the state is concerned.
