Abia State government has said that it would next week flag off wet season rice cultivation program on a target 8,500 hectares of land at different parts of Abia North in an effort to boost food production.
This is as the State says that only genuine farmers who have been verified to actually own rice farms would benefit from government supports, not impostors.
Addressing journalists on Monday at the Government House, Umuahia, after this week’s executive council meeting presided over by Governor Alex Otti, Commissioner for Information, Okey Kanu said that 400 genuine farmers at Ndiokereke Abam who are farming on 500 hectares of lands have been verified.
He noted that there is cultivation of rice on additional 150 hectares of lands at Owerrinta, pointing out that the cultivation would be replicated in Bende, Mkpa, Ofeme,Ozuitem, Ndiokereke and Ndioji Abam communities.
Addressing the concern that the government agric supports may be diverted to non farmers, the Commissioner for agriculture, Cliff Agbaeze said that that there is a statewide enumeration to collect the data of real farmers.
He explained that for a farmers to qualify for government supports, such farmers must have their actual farms identified and geo- maped with precise coordinates.
Meanwhile, some government farm plantations which were recovered Abia from their investors have been offered to new and credible investors with May 15 being the deadline.
