Akwa Ibom woos farm investors

Corporate farm investors have been enjoined to partner with Akwa Ibom State government to boost food production in the state.

Mr Amos Udom, Senior Adviser to the Governor on Project Monitoring, made the call when he paid a visit to Mr Arnold Smith, the Chief Operating Officer of Pandagric Novum Ltd, in Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.

Pandagric has keyed into the Federal Government’s vision of large-scale maize production to reduce forex pressure and food self-sufficiency.

According to him, since agriculture is a viable venture, the state is open for partnership with the farm in line with the government’s vision to boost food production in the state.

He stressed the need for them to take advantage of arable agricultural land, security and steady electricity supply provided by the state government.  

The chief executive encouraged the corporate farmers to provide such inputs as an improved variety of seeds/seedlings, provide farming implements, training, and re-training of local farmers, perfect existing off-takers’ arrangements, and provide agronomists for demonstration farms.

Udom tasked the local farmers to avail themselves of the opportunities to be offered training in best management practise in order to form themselves into cooperative societies and to refrain from subsistence farming to a large scale by embracing the modern agricultural techniques.     

Mr Arnold Smith, Chief Operating Officer, said they decided to venture into agriculture in a bid to uplift the continent of Africa from poverty and hunger.