Agriculture: Kogi Hosts Community Engagement for Proposed SAPZ Project at Ajaokuta »

The Kogi State Government through the State Ministry of Agriculture has sensitized stakeholders in Ajaokuta local government area of the state on the Proposed Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone (SAPZ), Phase II project that aims at revolutionizing agricultural practices as well as boosting food sufficiency, exports of processed raw agricultural commodities leading to job creation and overall economic growth in the state.

Speaking at the stakeholders engagement held at Adogo, headquarters of Ajaokuta local government area on Wednesday 17th July, the state Commissioner of Agriculture and Food Security, Hon. Timothy Ojoma said that SAPZ project is one of the projects introduced by the African Development Bank (ADB), adding that the aim of the meeting was to raise awareness of the SAPZ programme, demonstrate political will and enhance the understanding of the role of key actors involved in the implementation process.

Hon. Ojoma who acknowledged the current food crisis across the country and the world, said Ajaokuta local government area and indeed Kogi State is lucky to host the special project as it is in line with the aim of governor Ahmed Usman Ododo to tap into the vast agric potentials and transform Kogi into the food basket of the nation. He urged the people to cooperate with the consultants and officials of the Federal Ministry of Environment who are on ground to begin the environmental impact assessment (EIA) of the project as they have the full backing of the state government.

On his part, the Chief Consultant of the project from Green Engagement Limited, Dr. Oliver Nwuju, said the essence of the stakeholders scoping workshop is to inform the community about the proposed project, discuss the environmental and social impact of the project before going into implementation.

“The purpose of the Workshop today is to sensitize the stakeholders, the farmers, communities that are going to benefit to know that the project is coming.The Workshop will also give the participants the opportunity to know what is expected of them and their environment, particularly at this time when the project is taking into consideration, environmental assessment.

“Any project has environmental impact, therefore, we want to assess the negative impact the project is going to cause to the environment, what are the environmental issues that may arise, we will discuss them, if there is any other problem with the project, we will know how to mitigate them”, he said.

In his remark, the member representing Ajaokuta Constituency in the Kogi State House of Assembly, Hon. Jibril Abu, said desire of the people is quality representation the SAPZ project which has been influenced to the area will unlock the opportunities for food security, job security and increase the contribution of the sector to the nation’s GDP.

He said the project is designed to diversify the economy by changing agriculture to becoming a profitable economic venture, adding that the people of Ajaokuta Constituency are willing to give their lands for developmental initiatives like the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) project.

He urged the people to give their total support and protective cover in terms of security to project and not allow land disputes to cause challenge to the smooth running of the project.

The House of Representatives member representing Ajaokuta Constituency, Hon. Sani Abdulraheem Egidi, who was represented by Hajiya Latifah Isah commended the community engagement which goes a long way in enlightening the community on the gains of the project. He urged the contractor to ensure proper inclusion of members of the community especially women in order to provide more sense of ownership.

The lawmaker assured to continue to lobby people-oriented projects to the constituency.

In his response, the Ohi of Ajaokuta and Chairman, Ajaokuta Area Traditional Council, HRH, Alhaji Isah Musa Achigi, expressed delight over the proposed project describing it as unprecedented. He said the SAPZ project holds significant gains for the people of Ajaokuta in particular as they will be the immediate beneficiaries of the project when completed.

The Mornach who praised the state government for influencing the project to the state, assured of the community’s cooperation at ensuring its smooth implementation.

Other stakeholders including the Ajaokuta local government area Chairman, Hon. Haruna Ogido; the Special Adviser to the Governor on SEMA, Hon. Sandra Mimi, Representative of the Commissioner for Environment, appointees of the LGA led by the Secretary to LG, Hon Mukhtar; traditional rulers from all areas praised the siting of the project in Ajaokuta and pledged their full support to its. actualization.