Establishes 100 fish ponds in Abia, Borno

By Gabriel Ewepu – Abuja

With resolve from the Buhari-led administration to boost food security and create employment via the agricultural sector, Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, signing between the National Agricultural Land Development Authority, NALDA, and the Abia State Government, at the weekend, to rehabilitate Ogwe Golden Chicken Farm Estate is to engage over 3, 000 young people in the State.

This was made known by the Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer, NALDA, Prince Paul Ikonne, during the signing of the MoU at Government House, Umuahia, the Abia State capital.

According to Ikonne, NALDA’s delegation was in the state to officially set on motion the formalization process of rehabilitating the poultry farm estate, which the agency partners Abia State government to ensure unemployment reduction in the State as far as the MoU is concerned.

READ ALSO: NYSC, NALDA sign MoU to boost Nigeria’s food security

He added that Ogwe Golden Chicken in Ukwa East Local Government Area of Abia State is a vital project that has been included in farm estate recovery as part of Mr President’s mandate given to the agency.

He also assured that the over 300 acre Ogwe Golden Chicken Farm Estate will have processing and hatchery points, residential area, production area in terms of producing feeds, and packaging area.

He said: “The MoU for Ogwe Golden Chicken Farm Estate is simple, the Abia State Government has made the land available for the facility. The President has mandated us to develop it in order to engage youths from that community.

“NALDA programmes are community-based and this one will engage youths in the entire poultry value chain. What this means is that Abia will be known for egg production and finished chicken products.

“It will also reduce unemployment, because by the time you take away 3,000 people from the job seeking environment you are automatically creating security, as an idle mind is the devil’s workshop.”

However, he urged the Governor Ikpeazu to donate land for other three integrated farm estates as the State is entitled to them, hence land is needed to establish the remaining two farm estates.

In a related development, the NALDA boss made it known that the agency has embarked on establishing fish ponds basically for women in both Abia and Borno States under NALDA’s Women in Fishery Programme, which 50 ponds have been completed Fish Village located in Ikwuano Local Government Area of Abia State.

He further explained that facility in Ikwuano in Abia were being established a fish village.

He said, “It will have the hatchery, rearing, processing and packaging points, as well as the crop area where we will grow maize and others in order to produce feeds for the fish.

“The 50 fish ponds in Ikwuano here in Abia State is a programme meant for women and it is called Women in Fishery. This project is to encourage women to go into fish production.

While fish ponds have been located in different places in Borno State, with Maiduguri having about 50 ponds in 10 different locations, and would be inaugurated in October 2021.

 “That project, as it is going on in Ikwuano, is also going on in Maiduguri, Borno State. It is going on in 50 locations in Borno to take in women into the value chain of fish production, from hatchery to growing, processing and packaging.

“The ponds in Abia State are in one location, but 50 in 50 locations in Maiduguri, Borno State. This is because the Governor of Borno has provided the land and all is set.

“As we speak, 50 ponds in 10 locations are going on and we expect that it will be inaugurated by October.

“But the one in the North is the entire value chain that has residential areas and others and this is basically because of the size and land mass that is made available”, he added.

He also called on benefiting women in the locations with allocated fish pond facilities to utilize the opportunity they have to change their story and become self-reliant to support their families and boost local economies.

He also assured the CEOs performance and smart delivery of Mr President’s mandate for the betterment of the lives of Nigerians, which he said the Ogwe Chicken project intervention showed that the Federal Government had come to operationalise the facility, as the 3,000 persons who would work there would be so excited to see the poultry farm estate revamped.

He said: “You have inspired hope through NALDA for our youths. Also, I will state that agriculture is a very strategic enterprise because it is one of the greatest sectors for job creation and food provision.

“We applaud NALDA’s drive to ensure local participation in its programmes to create local economies and power houses to grow the country’s Gross Domestic Product and we assure the President that the chief executive of NALDA will continue to deliver.”

Meanwhile, the Governor said hope has returned to Abians through the agency as Nigerian youths are placed in the front burner in term of creating employment opportunities for them in the agricultural sector, and added that agriculture was a significant sector that needed quality personnel for proper management.

The governor also pledged the support of his state to the Federal Government in the actualisation of the farm estate and other projects championed by NALDA in Abia.

Vanguard News Nigeria