57,000 EBONYI FARMERS BENEFITS FROM GES

No fewer than 57, 000 Ebonyi
farmers have benefited from the
federal government's Growth
Enhancement Support scheme
(GES) in 2013, says Chief
Romanus Nwasum, the state
Commissioner for Agriculture
and Natural Resources.
Nwasum made this known
yesterday in Abakaliki during the
celebration of this year's World
Food Day in the state.
The GES is the flagship
programme of the agricultural
transformation agenda of the
federal government under which
farmers receive fertilizer and
seeds through an electronic
system known as the e-wallet.
Under the programme, a
registered farmer receives two
bags of fertilizer and maize seeds
free of charge.
He said: "In 2013, 114,092 bags
of fertilizer were distributed to
farmers in the 20 redemption
centres across the 13 local
government areas of the state.
The state is equally in
collaboration with the Federal
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development to raise more than
70,000 oil palm seedlings to be
given to farmers next year."
He said the state government has
procured 20 new four-wheel
tractors under its agricultural
revolution programme to boost
mechanised farming in the state.
"The government has also
revitalised and resuscitated the
Ebonyi Poultry Farm through
partnership with Cross River
International Consulting Inc. It
has also inaugurated three
modern rice processing mills
across the three senatorial zones
of the state and has distributed
improved cassava stems to over
2,000 farmers under the 2013
cassava value chain programme,"
he said.
He noted that the theme of this
year's celebration which is
"Sustainable Food Systems for
Food Security and Nutrition" is
apt, as it highlights and raises
awareness to the existing
problems and proffers solutions
to issues of global food security.
"Ebonyi is on the right track in
ensuring food security and
nutrition as the farmers trained
at Songhai Farms, Benin Republic,
have commenced their
agricultural ventures and started
training others.