KGSG charges stakeholders to invest in cassava production
By Halimat Isah
The Kogi State Government has taken the agricultural revolution in the state to the next level as it invited investors to a roundtable in Abuja to discuss how they could key into its cassava production scheme.
The agenda of the government at the roundtable discussion was to give the Confluence State absolute advantage in cassava production in Nigeria.
In his remarks, Governor Yahaya Bello who was represented at the occasion by the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Hon. Kolawole Mathew said the government has so far invested the sum of 1Billion Naira into enhanced production of cassava, rice, cashew and other staple crops across the 21 local government areas.
Governor Bello said the government procured agricultural machinery and equipment to improve mechanisation and process and also cleared massive hectares of land for the growth of the agricultural products.
According to him, agriculture is an important component of the 'New Direction' and a pillar in the five thematic areas which include health, education, job creation and youth engagement, public sector, pension reforms and others.
“Currently, my administration is building 650tonnes per hour rice mill in Omi Damn as the policy thrust of my administration on agriculture is to produce and ensure food security for the people of the state and the country in general,” he said.
Governor Bello added that his administration was prepared to invest heavily on infrastructure for agricultural development to cause economic growth, development, poverty reduction, job creation and revenue generation for the state.
In his speech, the Minister for Agriculture, Audu Ogbe, described Kogi State as a state blessed with arable, natural resources and much potentiality that needed to be explored.
Ogbe said Kebbi State which was one of the poorest states in the country as at 2015 now has lots of millionaires who gainfully utilised and tapped the potentials the state has in agriculture.
“We must recognise the fact that Kogi has the same potentials and capacity for wealth creation, and ability to cause drastic change in the economy and I must congratulate the government for realising this fact and arising to do its best to maximise these potentials” he added.
He expressed appreciation to Governor Yahaya Bello for his level of commitment to the state affairs and for recently visiting the Federal Ministry of Agriculture to show interest in cattle rearing ranch.
“It will interest you to know that Lagos State alone consumes 6000 cows in one day, and we cannot talk about cattle rearing without a ranch, all the fights we have in the country today is due to non-availability of water and grass and we encourage the people to key into the opportunity” the Minister explained.
Earlier, the Kogi State Commissioner for Agriculture, Hon. Oloruntoba Kehinde said the state was blessed with abundant natural resources and has what it takes to become the food basket of the continent.
Hon. Kehinde noted that the state under the leadership of Governor Bello has made tremendous progress in agriculture in the last two years saying that it currently produces 50 tonnes of rice today.
The Commissioner described the state as the best place to invest, stressing that the government did a pilot project that has recorded success and added more value to primary products like cassava.
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