A’Ibom Govt Kick-Starts Ibom Model Farm At Nsit Ubium

Akwa Ibom State Government has commenced the process of creating a model of an integrated agro-economic venture to drive the administration’s vision of agricultural revolution in the A.R.I.S.E. Agenda as it takes delivery of a fifty-hectare parcel of land donated by Nsit Ubium Local Government Council for the take-off of the Ibom Model Farm Project.

The State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, while undertaking an inspection of the land for the proposed project at Ikot Edibon, Nsit Ubium LGA, restated the government’s readiness to site a replica of the farm and other viable projects in local government areas that are willing to follow the Nsit Ubium example, noting that such projects will be sited based on the comparative advantage of the area.

“We have 31 local government areas, and any local government that gives us land, we will go there. We want to do agricultural enterprise in all 31 local government areas of the state, and the local government areas should be ready to be part of it. We want to partner with the local governments. So if we’re in a partnership, we bring the funding, technology, and expertise; they should bring the land.

“This one is donated by Nsit Ubium Local Government, the first local government to give us land for this project. This is between 30 and 50 hectares, and many things would be done here. We’ll have our own biogas, we’ll produce our lights, and we’ll do all other things. If you’ve been to Port Norvo, you’ll find out that the farm promotes tourism”, he stated.

The governor, who lauded the support of the Nsit Ubium people for his administration’s A.R.I.S.E. agenda by setting the pace and providing the state government with the required land for the integrated farm project, posited that with the ongoing site clearing, the project has already commenced, pending the official flag-off of the model farm within November.

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“We’re ready; we’re moving, but we’re also saying to the people to be ready to partner with the government. Give the land to the Ministry of Agriculture so that they can come over and use the place. If we get the land from any local government, we’ll go there. We will introduce other crops and other things based on their advantages,”, Eno assured.

He assured that the Ibom Model Farm will be similar to the multifaceted Songhai Farm in Port-Novo, Benin Republic, explaining that with the training component of the State Government’s Memorandum of Understanding signed with the experts, individuals and communities will soon replicate the enterprise at their levels.

Expounding further, Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Offiong Offor, who accompanied the governor on the site inspection, harped on the short- and long-term benefits of the Ibom Model Farm project to Akwa Ibom people.

She said that the farm will be integrated because it will combine crops and livestock enterprises to provide food, employment, income generation, and tourism and raise entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector.