…As SEDC flags off 200-hectare farm project in Enugu

By Chinedu Adonu

ENUGU — The Minister of Regional Development, Engr. Abubakar Momoh, has commended the South-East Development Commission (SEDC) and North-Central Development Commission (NCDC) for demonstrating capacity and vision in driving regional development.

Momoh spoke yesterday at the flag-off of SEDC’s 200-hectare integrated agricultural project at Nomeh Unataeze, Nkanu East Local Government Area of Enugu State.

He said the two commissions had distinguished themselves by translating government policies into concrete projects, urging other regional development commissions to move beyond planning and begin delivering projects with direct impact on their people.

“Of the first new development commissions created by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, two have demonstrated capacity and vision. They are the South-East Development Commission and the North-Central Development Commission,” Momoh said.

“Other commissions have to wake up from their slumber because there is a purpose for establishing these commissions. They are not personal entities. They are government organisations governed by rules and regulations.”

The minister said the Nomeh agricultural project aligned with the Federal Government’s food security agenda, describing it as a shift from policy formulation to implementation.

“What you are doing here today is in conformity with the ministry’s policy and the Federal Government’s policy. We are transforming policy into implementation now,” he said.

Earlier, SEDC Managing Director, Mark Okoye, said the commission had moved from consultations and planning to implementation.

“Development cannot remain in meetings and documentation. Today the work begins. Today we are putting the first shovel in the ground,” Okoye said.

He said the 200-hectare facility would integrate dairy, poultry, fisheries, crop production, greenhouses, processing, mechanisation and agricultural training.

According to him, an outgrower scheme would also support farmers in surrounding communities.

“The idea is simple. Production should connect to processing. Farmers should connect to markets, and training should connect employment to enterprise,” he said.

Okoye said the project, which is the pilot of SEDC’s South-East Agro-Development Programme, was designed to increase food production, create jobs, develop skills and promote value addition.

“Nomeh is our starting point, but it is not our destination. Our ambition is to establish agricultural interventions across the South-East,” he said.

Also speaking, Enugu State Deputy Governor, Barr. Ifeanyi Ossai, said the project demonstrated the benefits of collaboration between the state government and SEDC.

Ossai said the state government was investing in agriculture to move farmers from subsistence production to commercial agribusiness, create jobs and reduce poverty.

He urged SEDC to develop satellite production and processing clusters to enable farmers and entrepreneurs in other parts of the state to benefit from the Nomeh facility.

“What you are doing in Nomeh today is wonderful, but you must develop a framework that will decentralise it,” Ossai said.

He assured the commission that the state government would protect its investment and urged the host community to safeguard the facility.