,;'AGRICULTURE
DAILY TRUST
Tuesday, August 7, 1012
25
ndustry transformed agriculture The
"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~II.!,!,,!,~~~~~~~~~~ ,
of
IMO Pcln Plantation Ohaji
thulateandtogh'~the:ho5tcom -
Umited s a palm tree grow ing and pallT. lOil processing fact ory belonginJ 10 the Irno Stale govrrnm ent II was establilhed by Dr. Mich,ui Opkara. Premie r'o f Ihe deCunct Eas te:rn R~lon, It is
munities a sense ofbdonging. Regrett abl)", * th~ planlation before now has ne:arly gone mori bund bc:cauR ofth~ inability of previous go\ocmme nts to gh-e needl!'d atten tion to Ih~placl!'. TIle: situatio n led to the grounding of tne plaCl!' with thl!' starr sacked whi l~ the: manageme:nl contin ued wit hou t the right vision of moving to greater height, However, the production capacity of Ihl!' company red uced drastically to zero point. Prtviousadministrations in th e:
~i tuat eda E Ohajl inOhaJ llEgbema
Local GC\'('mme:nl Area o f lmo St ate"i~33.()()()hl!'Ctaresofpalm
plant;ltio L Th ~ In' O palm plantation (Adapalm ) "''a ;l:asicallyestabli shed to. arnongolhl r things,ge:nl!'rall!' reve:nue (ortht state through the produ ctiun alld marke lingof palm oil
Nasarawa farmers harvest new lfam w ithout fertilizer
the:y can appoi nt their 10yalisLS who w illtak~orders from th em without question. Th~y did littl e o r noth ing eXIn-ordinary to de\'c:iop Ihe place just Ilk~ o lher In dustries lik~ Amaraku Pow~r Sta tion, Nsu liles, AVUl u Poultry among olhe:rs. Thl!' inc um be: nt gove:rnor, Roehas Okorocha, afte: r an in · depth consid~ral ion, coupled WIth co nviClion 10 r~viv~ Ihe: Industry, engage:d a ne:w investo r. an Irish foreign firm , known as the Roch~ to transform Ihl!' placl!' and bring it to its origi nal position undrr a I~asing agreemenL
Oyo WOOS foreign investors in'agricultoreFrom Yemi Bamldelt, ~
lIS much of the fanning
FARMERS in Nasarawa Stale: ha\'t bq;unhar.'e.lorMumu)'t: thespc:de of yam v>idtty cultivated thtl't, although tho.,), had no fe:rtUizer to nurrur~ i ts gto\\th. GroundnJIS, ntaizt and othc:r cmpsmaJK,bring haI'\"CSt1!'d in tills ear~' haI'\1.st season which carne: up ",-eda befilfl: the stale: and the fedem! go'o'n;llr teTlt fiaggrd ofT sak of fertilizer tJ farmers al a certmony in Awe:. lK'atlquaners or A,,'t Local Go\'~mml'n Am, last week. Gmocn~'r Unwu llmko AIMakura lee federal SO"ft1\mtnt officiPJ.s 1(1 J~we for thI!' cefl!' mony. wheft' he admowll!'dged that the stale «On<ln ry isdepmdml on agricuJtme with O'o'tr 80 pacenl of its population lngaged in fanni ng and
relatal \'tJIIl.res.. The ttn'mooy flaggl!'d off the 201 2croppingseason.as wdl as taU aronony for this rears fc:rtiliut' distribution under the growth mhallccme:nt sche:me: of the AgricuJtur~ Tr.u sformation Agenda of the r"f~1 fio\'tTllmmL Bul for the farmrn. the enemony d.hJ not rc:prc:sc:nt the: comml!'l\Ccrn~nt of the cropping season, OUt
population the:rc:hadbegunthe:irhaI'\'CSlforthe: early crops. long before: lhe: gol'tmrnmt brought iu fc:rtiliur. "'W~ are eating new yam now; har\"tStil ongoingforsome5p«ic:s~
Vmar E..5I,i, a fanner in Akum. a COIlUTlunity in ~ Dc:>-elopmmt Am lold Daily Trust al thI!' weekend. -Maybe: gmnnme:nt does not ha\'C\l(hiKB,otherwiscthc:yshould ha\'e known that fmiliu:r has to reach farmers in the: quar1er of till!' )'Cll. so that during the second quarter, applJation ",ill com mc:nce: for the carly crops.. TItal was the: practice during thI!' Second Republic and during the milil.a/"f. He said ·~Iumu),t is sp«il!' that is harvestro arlier than the othl!'TS, and it needs fertilizer- wiier than other spc:cies. We hope thai p I!' mment will unde:rstand thaI the: period for fertilizer application \-aries between oops and a'Cn sperir:s.~ Daily Trust tr.aversed parts Nasarawa-West al the: weekmrl, and observed thai many communities a~ already ~'CSting the early yam spedI!'. which name: is dert.'Cd rrom thI!' people ofMwnU)'t in Adarnawa State: bc:causc: it is bdit'\'Cd to hlI\'e: come from them.
rust
agrttment which is to run for IS years will
has ),800 approJtimate: hc:clares ortrtet, adding that the: exisling attract a sum ofN3.2 billion to the palm IJtts are at the end ortheif slate go\·cmment. The decision of life spa n and becausl!' of tha t, the governor to fe -engineer the pro d uctivity would conti nue: to dl!'Cr~aR in the nut fj\'r rears. industry was pan ofhis promise to HI!' said that br tween 6-7 y~ars. the people of the stale during the tlectionening period. The aim is th~re would br no plantation. He taI'KC1ed at gener.l.ling at leasl4,OOO describrd the type or palm trees jobs upon full rdlabilitalion. as good with high quality soil The bold steps la~n for the that producl!'S good fruits. H r said lhat altl!'ady. he: has revival of Adapalm by the incumbent governor was the same effort to adopt an aggressiv~ re:plantbeing put in place to lransfonn ing p rogramm~ which.musLbc the entire agrkuhur:a.l sector in com pl~ted within lhrel!' years. the state to ensure food security H I!' said th at th~y have only and boast farmers' morale in agri sUe ye:ars fro m toda y to gro"" new palm tret's In the place to culture. "-Iajar attention has also ~n paid to rn>amping other r~plac~ the existing ones WhOR abandoned industrin in the Sla te. - production capacity h;!...e slarted Managing · Director of Imo lodiminish. Palm Plantation Ohaji. Neil Mr. Bandy said the new Andrew Danby told Daily Trust managem~nt of the company on a visit to the plantation and has brough t 84.000 impro\-I!'d factory Ihal Adapalm almost Re:dlings from Coste: ria with bearne a raUed projec t that th~ anu ther form Abia. Bayc:lsa and people lost confid ence In i>«aUR * Croll RI\'er$ U;ileTiEpeclNely il.5 production I~\'~I feU far ~Iow to replac~ the: existing tren that ~~t at ion befor~ the new man are not very produc Live and agemen t on board, hope: to de:ve:lop the:m...wutLa_ milli on seeds by Jun e next yea r. Danby said the production I~d of the factory has bttn very Chairman ofth~ House: Com· miueeon Agricullur~ in the: Imo low bc:cause: th~ mills h av~ ~n bacUy maintained o\'e r the years, Slal~ Hou sl!' of Assembly. Luck Chukwu, said there is se rious to the: uten l that the: mills cannot function to capaci ty, H~ assured transformation in thl!' plac~ within the short ~riod of lakethat th~ new m anag~m~nt of the factory is determined to im prove ove r of th e firm by the: fo re ign fi rm. He said Adapalm is now on th~ production of the: fa ctory pe:nding th~ completion of the ",'earinga new look and anybody new on~ by D«ember this ye:ar, visiting t h~ pla c~ "" ould altest to He:said that presently,Adapalm that. upect~
OYO State has bttn ldentifiaJ as one of th~ choicest dtSllnatioru for f,.reign im'eSlors willing to invest in agriculture in Nigeria and the Slate gO'o'tmment is poisI!'d to provide Ihern with all the:.mussary ince:nLi\"tS to atlr.lCl thmt to invest in thl!' $laiC:, Go-.·tmOr Alriola Ajimobi has said. lbe: ~'tnlOr who was speaking at thethird and fmal dayofthe Ne:w World N"tgeria im"CStme:nt Forum in
London alongside the G<n'aTlor of E1dti Sta\t', Dr. Ka)-ode Faytmi. the
He was optimistic thai. in\'CStors would beattractl!'d to !hi!' state: b). ...u-lue: ofiu pacc:setter status in Nigeria. a landmass of32.000squarc: kilom· I!'krs, a Large population of6,7 million people. the exiSlmC~ of world class re:staJCh institu!ti!ift:TrI'A"in<r the: Unin'rsity oflbadan, numerous nalurailourist altraclionsanda large dqxl:sit of soUd minl!'ral resources. Go-.-mlOT Ajimobi Rid in theam of agriculture, the Slate was plating
Minister for Trade: and In\"CSlme:llt, Olusc:gun Aganga. the Governor of the Cenlral Bank of Nigeria. Smusi Lamido Sanusi anlong othe:rs, said the: CO"~mmc:n t has kJc:ntific:d fh't priority areas in thl!' stall!'s quest for in\'CSImc:nt 1lv: rn'tan'aS, the go'o'ftTlOr said, Ifl!' agriculrurt and transport. infrastructure:. manufacruring..small and mc:diumscale:mterprises, solid min- _ c:nl~o/1~POL1ItQ'ffI(f);I oil palm, ric~ and fruil crops !ike c:raIs.cuIturc:and tourism and P<)\\'tf. / - -- . , - - - - - - - - - -- - - - -- -- - - - - , pine apples, OI2OgtS.liml!'. pa"'paw, gua\'il. banana and tOTnatoes.adding that the largl!' scalI!' production of the producu is hindered by an ageing population, bad stOl'ilge practice, lack of \-aJUe chain agilcii1fiiii" ana unavailability of managerial ability;amongothm.. He said the focus orthe gm-anment "''as toaddn:ss these- chalknges to make agriculture attncth't to youths and other ategories or the people of the state:. SWing that 80"mtment was also requiring in\'CStors in solid minerals. espcdalIy in amphibolites, marble. dolomite:, lantWite: and talc which the 5late: has in abundanCl!' as the stall!' "''as the SC\"CIlth in Nige:ria in terms of solid minem!sdtposil