News in brief:
– Abia State is launching a wet season rice farming initiative targeting 8,500 hectares across rice-producing communities.
– Over 400 verified farmers will benefit in the first phase, with plans to attract credible investors for agricultural growth.
The Abia State Government has finalised plans to kick off its Wet Season Rice Farming Programme under the state’s In-Grower Scheme, to enhance food production and ensure food security in the state.
The Commissioner for Information, Prince Okey Kanu, disclosed this while briefing journalists in Umuahia after the State Executive Council meeting. He said the programme will be officially flagged off by the Ministry of Agriculture.
Over 400 verified farmers set for first phase
According to Kanu, the initiative will start with rice cultivation on 8,500 hectares of land across selected communities in Abia North. For the flag-off, more than 400 verified rice farmers in Ndi-Okereke Abam are already farming on over 500 hectares.
“Rice is also being cultivated on another 150 hectares in Owerinta,” he noted. “This is a continuation of earlier efforts by the Ministry of Agriculture, and now is the time to scale up.”
He added that other communities such as Bende, Mkpa, Ofeme, Ozuitem, Ndi Okereke Abam, and Ndi-Oji Abam would also benefit from the project as it expands.
Agro-partnership programme records high success rate
Prince Kanu also gave updates on the ongoing Abia–CSS Farms strategic agro-collaboration, revealing that beneficiaries have achieved over 90% success in their chosen projects.
He said the government remains committed to building on the gains of the partnership to create jobs and strengthen the state’s agricultural value chains.
Abia State had in 2024 sponsored 300 youths’ agriculture capacity-building in partnership with CSS Global Farms, Nasarawa State. The project featured a two-week paid on-site training in CSS Farm in Nasarawa on mechanised farming and the entire value chain of Agriculture.
New deadline for plantation investment opportunities
In a related development, the state government has extended the deadline for submitting Expressions of Interest on its recovered agricultural plantations to May 15, 2025.
Kanu explained that the extension is to attract more credible investors and allow for a robust evaluation process.
“We’re moving past the days of all-comers. Abia now seeks serious and experienced investors to manage these agricultural assets,” he said.
Also present at the briefing were the Commissioner for Petroleum, Professor Joel Ogbonna; Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr. Cliff Agbaeze; Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Mr. Ferdinand Ekeoma; and Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Ukoha Njoku Ukoha.
