Abia acquires land for oil palm revolution
Abia State Commissioner for Agriculture, Chief Uzor Azubuike, has announced that the state government has acquired about eight thousand hectares of land to effect what he called oil palm revolution in the state.
He said that the project which he also tagged ‘ community oil palm project’, would also raise the people’s consciousness as well as motivate them into embarking on agriculture and oil palm growing and production practice as one of the means of surviving under the prevailing economic uncertainties.
The Commissioner spoke at Ahiaba Umueze in Osisioma Ngwa Local Government Area (LGA) during the flag off of the two million oil palm seedlings planting as part of the state oil palm revolution.
He explained that the project is designed to avail communities who are desirous to change the aging wild species of palm fruits that were prevalent in Africa, the opportunity to change and replant the improved variety seedlings.
He said the communities will directly be involved in the maintenance of the palm project as well as take ownership of the farms but not the plantation, adding that the revenue accruing from the venture will go to the community and by so doing, creating wealth in the community.
According to the Commissioner, government will however come in by developing the value chain through which it will make profit from taxation, and thus create employment opportunities for the people describing it as self generating.
He added that the seedlings will not however be given to communities for free and indicated that government will work with only communities that are considered convincingly desirous to partner with it in the project.
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1 Comments
This is a step in the right direction, I only hope it will be genuine and not another form of fraud by govt again. bcos common good morning from the govt has become a lie and another way of embezzling
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