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From Isaac Job, Uyo
Akwa Ibom state governor pastor Umo Eno commenced tree crop revolution initiative with donation of 620,000 oil palm seedlings to farmers to be distributed across the 31 local government areas in the state .
Tagged “Tree Crop Revolution Initiative” Eno said oil palm tree planting is a strategic Agricultural intervention to ensure food Sufficiency, stimulate rural economic growth and advanced Agricultural objectives in the Arise Agenda of his administration.
Speaking during the flag-off ceremony at the Akwa Ibom Agricultural Development Project’s (AKADEP) Eno described oil palm as a symbol of wealth, heritage, enterprise and community life adding that the was known for oil palm production before the dominance of crude oil in the Nigerian economy.
According to the governor, the tree crop planting initiative with focus on oil palm tree remains a deliberate attempt to return the state to generational economic heritage of the people.
Eno recalled how families built their prosperity and train children through proceeds from oil palm plantations regretting such economic empire has been abandoned in the state .
He listed economic benefits of oil palm trees to include provision of food and raw material for pharmaceutical , cosmetics and other manufacturing industries .
Eno explained that the state government will leverage the oil palm planting initiative to drive industrialization and economic expansion especially among the rural dwellers .
He disclosed that his administration will adopt the Tree Crop Revolution Initiative in a household and community-based approach structured around small holder farmers across the 31 local government areas as each participating household will receive oil palm seedlings free of charge for cultivation.
” The State Government has fully paid for 660,000 elite Tenera oil palm seedlings supplied by the Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR) for distribution to farmers across the state which will be distributed on a local government basis, targeting about 500 households per council area, while churches and other strategic groups have also been captured in the programme”.
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Eno said farmers have been digitally profiled to ensure transparency and effective implementation of the initiative.
“Each beneficiary household will receive seedlings capable of cultivating approximately a quarter hectare of farmland, while farmers with greater capacity will also be accommodated”
Eno stated that at the end of the programme’s initial five-year phase the state government expect that over 60,000 hectares of land would be cultivated to generate substantial volumes of fresh palm fruit bunches to attract commercial and industrial processing investments.
” The long-term goal therefore is to establish Akwa Ibom as a major oil palm production and processing hub with visibility on the Nigerian Stock Exchange”.
Eno said the tree crop revolution initiative programme is designed to place wealth directly into the hands of the people as government responsibility is not to distribute unsustainable handouts but to provide productive assets capable of generating lasting prosperity.
“I was not raised to take government money and distribute recklessly. Instead, we will put productive assets and opportunities into the hands of our people so they can create sustainable wealth for themselves”
” The state government plans to establish produce buying centres across the state to purchase fresh fruit bunches directly from farmers at fair market prices
“The financial benefits go directly into the pockets of our people thereby creating an organised and sustainable supply chain for industrial processors.”
