The Abia State Government is to flag-off the Wet Season Rice Farming Programme in its dogged effort to boost food production.
Briefing Newsmen on the outcome of this week’s State Executive Council meeting held on Monday, the Commissioner for Information, Prince Okey Kanu said that the flag- off event would be done through the state Ministry of Agriculture and its In-Growers Scheme in the state.
According to him, “Under this initiative, the Ministry will be aggregating farmers cooperatives across different crop value chains and will commence with rice in a target of 8,500 hectares of land at different communities in the rice belts of the state. This is mainly in the Abia North zone of the state.
“For this flag off, there are over 400 genuine and authenticated rice farmers at Ndi-Okereke Abam, farming on over 500 hectares of land that have been verified.
“There is also cultivation of rice on an additional 150 hectares of land at Owerinta. Recall that before now, you were informed that the State government through the Ministry of Agriculture had commenced planting of rice in that part of the state.”
Prince Kanu made public that the move would be replicated at other state-owned rice farmlands at Bende, Mkpa, Ofeme, Ozuitem, Ndi Okereke and Ndi-Oji Abam.
The Commissioner used the forum to announce that the deadline on the invitation for expression of interest on the state’s recovered plantations has been extended to the 15th of May 2025 to give more investors the opportunity to participate in the exercise.
