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Food Security: Abia To Train 300 Farmers At Nassarawa Farm

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Gov. Otto and Prof Opara at the event

Participants

Dr. Alex Otti, Governor of Abia State, has stated that one of the ways Nigeria can solve the problem of food security is to mechanise farming and establish such businesses across the federation.

Governor Otti stated that with this measure, Nigeria would have found a solution to its food security issues in the face of rising import costs.

According to Kazie Uko, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Otti made the call on Thursday during a capacity building training for the first batch of 300 candidates chosen for agricultural training at CSS Global Integrated Farms in Nassarawa State.

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He emphasised the importance of agriculture in not only addressing food security, but also in reducing unemployment and promoting socioeconomic stability.

While emphasising the importance of agriculture for food security, Governor Otti stated that the Federal Government has spent a whopping N7.8 trillion on food imports over the last six years.

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He stated that Nigeria is blessed with abundant arable land and should not be burdened with large import bills, emphasising the need for a paradigm shift and stakeholders to take the issue seriously.

“It is a shame that a country with over 200 million people and so much arable land, reputed as the world’s largest producer and cultivator of food, spends so much money on food imports.

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“Statistics show that this country has spent approximately 7.8 trillion Naira on food imports over the last six years.”

“In 2021, we spent approximately 1.9 trillion naira. In 2022 and 2023, we spent about two trillion Naira per year on food imports. So, to put it into perspective, our budget for 2024 is somewhere around N28 trillion; N27.5 trillion initially, then increased to around N28 trillion.

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“Do not forget that such numbers were not seen between 2015 and 2019. The budget totaled between 7 and 10 trillion Naira. So, it is a shame to spend more than 11% of your total budget on food imports, especially if you have plenty of land.

“To put it in context, the total import bill, which includes technology, manufacturing, and everything else, is around N20 trillion. It represents more than 10% of the total import bill.

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“The World Bank estimates that 11 to 12% of our total import bill is for food. If you understand these numbers, you will realise that what we are doing here (capacity training) is not a joke, and you will take it seriously,” Governor Otti said.

The Governor, noting that the two-week agricultural training is aimed at increasing local food production, urged programme participants to be good ambassadors of the state as well as to seize the opportunity and equip themselves with the knowledge and skills to spearhead agricultural transformation in the state.

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He reassured participants in the comprehensive support programme that the government would cover all expenses from the beginning to the end of the agricultural training.

Governor Otti thanked Prof. John-Kennedy Opara, Founder and CEO of CSS Global Integrated Farms, for his support of the current administration and expressed his commitment to ensuring the success of the agricultural training programme.

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He urged Prof. Opara to consider establishing a farm in Abia State, promising a quick land acquisition process backed up by a Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) delivered within 30 days.

In a presentation titled “Agricultural Development and Food Security – The Path to Human and Capital Resources Development,” Prof. Opara stated that God had destined Governor Otti to lay a solid foundation in Abia on which his successors would build.

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He stated that Abia is no longer number one in alphabetical order, but also in action, due to the presence of a visionary leader in the form of Governor Otti.

Prof. Opara, while urging leaders to prioritise agriculture in the midst of severe economic hardship, stated that Abia has the potential to outperform Israel in terms of food production and exports, as well as feed all of West Africa.

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He stated that by training the first batch of 300 Abians in various agricultural value chains, Governor Otti is empowering young people to be wealth creators and employers, thereby putting an end to youth unemployment, hunger, criminality, and poverty.

In their remarks, Professor Monica Ironkwe, Commissioner for Agriculture, and Dr. Cliff Agbaeze, Special Adviser to the Governor on Agriculture, thanked God for the gift of Governor Otti, who has demonstrated in practical terms that he is on a mission to rebuild Abia through life-changing programmes and policies.

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Prof. Ironkwe stated that the 300 beneficiaries were carefully selected from wards to be trained in various agriculture value chains, and that with this gesture and other proactive steps taken by Governor Otti, Abia will soon feed the entire Nigeria.

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