Edo Govt. to partner investors to create jobs in agric sector

chika ebuzor

April 18, 2018 3:00 AM

Obaseki made the disclosure when he led top government officials on a study visit to Dr Fregede Cassava Farms in Abraka, Delta on Tuesday.

Gov. Godwin Obaseki of Edo says his administration will partner with private investors in the agriculture sector to create jobs for youths in the state.

Obaseki made the disclosure when he led top government officials on a study visit to Dr Fregede Cassava Farms in Abraka, Delta on Tuesday.

He said that part of strategies to create the jobs was to see how we can replicate successful agricultural venture across the various local government councils in the state.

“In the past, government used to do it on its own but today, the private sector has the capacity to do it and they are doing it more efficiently.

“The strategy we want to adopt is to encourage the private sector to be involved in agribusiness, partner with them and then use their knowledge to replicate several agriculture ventures across the state,’’ Obaseki said.

The governor said his administration was working on a master plan that would support small holders and large scale farmers to make more investment in agriculture via Public Private Partnership arrangement.

“We are mapping out communities where we can begin to launch this type of project.

“We now have data on 19 million hectares of land in Edo, so the next step for us is to carry out land use assessment to know the type of land that is good for production of arable crops.

“The essence is to create jobs and make raw materials available for industrial purposes,” the governor said.

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Obaseki added that his administration would construct more link roads to farms and provide power supply to encourage development of processing industries around farms and make the sector more viable to investors.

The General Manager of Dr Fregene’s Farms, Mr Marcus Cassava, who took the governor and his team on a tour of the farm, explained that good agronomic practice was necessary to get high cassava yields.

He advised that it was better to engage more hands on the farm to create jobs for youths and women.

chika ebuzor