Farmers, particularly the youth in their midst, practising in Rivers State have a reason to celebrate. The Rivers State government has decided to give support to farmers in the areas of farm inputs and a credit scheme. The Commissioner for Agriculture and Irrigation Development, Rivers State, Johnson A. Ebokpo, revealed the provision of 108 medium-sized 30hp tractors that will be distributed to farmers across the 18 Local Government Areas of the state.
This move followed alarming data from the National Bureau of Statistics that more than 13 million individuals in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, and Rivers states are experiencing various forms of poverty.
Speaking at a press briefing, Ebokpo said the report that 75.4 per cent of the state population are experiencing multidimensional poverty was a wake-up call to implement strong agricultural policies and programmes to help uplift citizens from poverty and into economic stability. He said, “The government has procured 108 medium-sized 30hp tractors to be distributed across the 18 LGAs.
“These tractors will be owned by cooperatives made up of 10 youths from each LGA, creating 1,080 direct jobs and 2,160 indirect jobs in areas like transportation and maintenance.”
The state government can show excitement about the gains of the intervention because that is not the only support it is giving the farmers. The commissioner said, “The state government has commenced the first phase of land clearing, amounting to about 12,000 hectares, for the commercial production of grains such as maize, cassava, rice, sorghum, cowpea, and wheat”.
The commissioner added that the state has established a N30bn Commercial Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme known as ‘PROJECT GROW,’ to serve as collateral to unlock lending facilities from financial institutions.
Detailing the scheme, Ebokpo said the N30bn fund will support farmers’ access to loans, improve agricultural activities and achieve food sufficiency in the state. The fund will be managed by a group of banks and backed by the state government.
In line with its commitment to sustainable development, the state has launched an agroforestry initiative to cultivate 750,000 seedlings of Irvingia gabonensis, also known as bush mango, for distribution to farmers. Additionally, the state is implementing various community development projects, such as building farm roads, setting up mini-processing facilities, and installing solar-powered boreholes.
The Commissioner assured that the government is committed to helping farmers transition from subsistence to commercial farming and enhancing the agricultural value chain in the state.