The Cross River State
Governor, Senator Liyel Imoke, has given reasons for introducing the Songhai Integrated Farm System in the state.
Answering reporters questions after inspecting facilities at the farm in Abi Local Government Area of the state, Imoke disclosed that the farm had a wider scope to an extent that farmers in the state never knew that agriculture was a big time business.
According to him, “the era when our farmers only cultivate and harvest agricultural produce and process them outside the state was gone.”
“We have to cultivate, harvest and produce them here in the state because they create value chain as well as opportunity for employment as processed products cost more than the raw ones,” he maintained.
Imoke said agriculture has never been carried out in the state in a manner it should have been done and that the farm, which would be commissioned in the second quarter of the year, was expected to operate as a service or incubation centre, where trainers would be sent to other local government areas to train others.
The governor noted that trainers at the farm were trained on cultivation, harvesting and processing in such fields, as animal husbandry, fishery, poultry, market gardening and organic mechanization to produce high yielding crops from inexpensive technology.
On the continuation of the project when he leaves office next year, Imoke remarked that his successor would be passionate about agriculture and its importance to the people, adding that in Cross River, there was continuity in government.
He said, “This farm would not be driven by Government but would be run by Songhai Organization, which is globally recognised”.
Imoke noted that the work force of the farm is not conceptualised on its size but should be seen as a huge project because of its components.
Earlier, Mr. Christopher Ekeoma, a team leader, who conducted the Governor round the farm, introduced him to the facilities, which included the hatchery, earthen and concrete fish pond for agriculture, green house for market gardening, free ranch house for turkey, fowl and quail and abattoir under construction.
Ekeoma disclosed that the location of the farm was not good for crop cultivation because of the swampy nature of its topography, which makes an ideal place for rice cultivation and animal production in full scale.
He explained that crop cultivation would be taken in another location known as Anon while the paw-paw, pepper and cucumber farms there were genetically modified, adding that all the produce from the farm would be sold out immediately because there is a available market to buy them off.
The team leader said no by-product in the farm was a waste as the dropping from the poultry would be stored in the earthen ponds to produce maggot, which would be used in feeding the fish while the waste from pineapple after extraction would either be used as feeds or manure for plants.
L-R: Executive Secretary, National Health Insurance Scheme (nhis), Dr Femi Thomas, Governing Council member, Dr Ngozi Azodo and Chairman, Governing Council, Dr Shem Zagbayi, at the opening of nhis Governing Council retreat in Uyo, last Thursday. Photo: NAN
