World bank to aid cassava processing in kogi #nigeria

The Kogi Deputy
Governor, Mr Yomi Awoniyi, has commended
the World Bank for its support to the state's
agricultural sector of the state.
Awoniyi made the commendation when he
received a delegation of the World Bank/FGN
supervising mission to Kogi
in Lokoja on Friday.
He said that the state would strive to maintain all
the indices of good governance as it relates to
transparency and accountability.
Awoniyi gave and assurance that the state
government was going to use all the good
governance indicators as it relates to
transparency and accountability to make the
Cassava Processing Zone proposed for the state a
reality.
He noted that the state government had made
access to land and issues related to land right and
land tenure a priority in encouraging agriculture.
Awoniyi, who described the state as blessed in
cassava production, disclosed that the selection of
Kogi by the World Bank to develop a Cassava
Processing Zone was a well deserved
development.
The deputy governor called on the World Bank
officials to present an action plan that would
enable the state government to key into the
success of the Cassava Processing Zone in the
state.
In a remark, Dr Femi Abolarin, the state
Commissioner for Agriculture, said that the
World Bank/FGN supervising mission to the state
was aimed at concretising the bank’s support to
the staple crop processing zone in Alape.
He commended Gov Idris Wada for the priority
given to agriculture in the state.
Earlier in his speech, Dr. Abimbola Adubi, the task
team leader of the World Bank, said Kogi was the
only state selected by the bank to support its
processing zone.
He noted that the project was aimed at
supporting the Agricultural Transformation
Agenda of the Federal Government, using the
existing Fadama project to support issues relating
to the staple crop processing zone.
Adubi said that the project would attract about
700 million dollars,while noting that the Fadama
project would give priority to crops such as
cassava, rice and horticultural crops.
He said since the state was the highest producer
of cassava in the country, the state had been
chosen to focus on cassava production