My Vision on Agriculture Akwa Ibom State is predominantly an agrarian community; just like the entire nation that employs 70 per cent of its population in farming and derives 88 per cent of non-oil foreign exchange earning from agriculture. Gains in the agricultural sector at the Federal level that I intend to directly utilize to boost agricultural productivity in Akwa Ibom State include:
- Cassava export potential of USD 3.0 billion annually from Nigeria into the World market; and the Presidential Cassava Initiatives.
- The Vegetable Oil Department Programme that will boost oil palm production.
- Presidential Initiative on Rice Production, Processing and Export.
- These federally funded programmes are backed with funds and other forms of support; hence my Government will boost cassava, oil palm, rice and the production of other priority food and cash crop and fisheries and allied processing industries, as shown in the next chapter, on Local Government Industrialization Plans.
- Other Presidential Initiatives and Federal agricultural programmes we hope to key our agricultural sector into are: Catfish Production; Fisheries and Aquaculture; Rubber(Production, Utilization And Export); Agricultural Credit Schemes and Micro-financing
At the State level programmes such as the Micro-credit and Integrated Farmers Schemes and our Life Enhancement Programmes will be expanded. My Vision is that of Rural Industrialization based on agricultural products. Expansion of specifics are itemised on local government industrialization plan, below.
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Mechanisation is rapidly repositioning our farmers for large scale farming |
With research and well coordinated capacity building our farmers are producing
well cultured, and best of breed yields |
We are ensuring that finance is not the hinderance to reaching our resources as
we provide even our fishermen with motorised fishing boats |
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.:: Articles |
| Jul, 28 2010: Akpabio is not Gambling with Development ...more | | Oct, 29 2008: Ebughu fishing firm to resume production soon...more | | Oct, 24 2008: Enlightenment Committee Embarks On Surveillance Visit to Farms...more | | Oct, 17 2008: Nigeria`s agricultural assets more powerful than oil - IITA...more | | Mar, 24 2008: Fertiliser may cost more, says minister ...more | | Mar, 24 2008: US boosts Nigeria’s agric sector with N1.3bn grant...more |
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Agricultural Projects
- Emergency in food sector declared
- Distributed 22 Tractors for farm operations
- Distributed modern fishing boats and outboard engines to fishermen
- Release of funds for the payment of the State’s counterpart contributions to the
National Fadama Developement Programme
We don't want to rely on oil, we are making efforts to re-engineer our
agricultural sector and increasing our internally-generated revenue. The present
administration has reformed the agricultural sector and made it atractive as a
business venture. The government has put in place resources to enhance
profitable farming such as fertilizers, day old chick, rabbit, agrochemicals,
cassava cuttings, improved seedlings and technical /extension services to
farmers through the Ministry of Agriculture and the Akwa Ibom State Agricultural
Development Programme (AKADEP).
In April, 2008 government got proactive and declared emergency in the food
sector as a pre-emptive measure to avert an imminent food crisis in the State.
this the government decllared is a wake-up call from the global food crisis and
to be pragmatic in ensuring food sufficiency for all Akwaibomites thereby taking
delivery of 600 metric tonnes of maize worth N26 million to be sold at
subsidized rate to the people. Also, plans were announced by the government to
commence processing of cassava flour with a directive to every bread producer to
use 10 percent of cassava flour and 90 percent of flour in bread production.
Government would soon dialogue with major farmers in the state to ensure
cultivation of unutilized land to enhance food security.
On the integrated farmers scheme, Akpabio said he would assess the workability
of the scheme or otherwise re-introduce school-to-land programme, pledging that
his desire was to provide soft loan to unemployed agriculture graduates.
Government has also procured and distributed twenty-two (22) Tractors for farm
operations in the State. This has eased manual farm labour and eradicated
drudgery commonly associated with traditional systems of farming and will
eventually increase food production in the State.
The Government has approved the release of funds for the payment of the State’s
counterpart contributions to the National Fadama Developement Programme – III,
the Root and Tubers Expansion Programme, Farm Management Advisory service,
National Programme for Food and other national and international community
–driven development programmes which hold enormous benefits for our people.
Fertilizers worth N100 Million have been procured for distribution to farmers at
a very subsidized rate for the 2008 farming season.
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Youths queue to pick up their cheques empoering them to partake in the ideals of
the Integrated Farmers Scheme |
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Akwa Ibom's wake up to reposition in the global palm oil industry will
indeed cultivate a vibrant and sustainable economy |
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Our empowering rural farmers with these motor bikes as with other tools and
implements is taking the drudgery out of agriculture |
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Provision of hardware for processing outputs from our farms are rapidly
increasing productivity, bringing down prices, and increasing food availability |
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