South East Development Commission (SEDC) says it will launch 15 agromechanisation projects across the five states of the Southeast to revive the region’s agricultural and industrial fortunes.
The commission said the projects, three in each state and one in each senatorial zone, would begin in Enugu State in partnership with the state governments.
The commission said this at Nomeh, Nkanu East Local Government Area of Enugu State, during a community engagement with leaders and stakeholders on the proposed Nomeh Agromechanisation Project.
Executive Director, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Rural Development (NRARD) of SEDC, Dr Clifford Ogbede, represented by his Technical Adviser, Dr Chris Uwadoka, said the projects were designed to reignite the agro-industrial revolution that made the defunct Eastern Region one of the world’s fastest-growing economies between 1954 and 1964.
He said the initiative would create direct and indirect jobs, attract local and foreign investors, provide improved seeds and modern agricultural knowledge, and make farming more attractive to young people.
Ogbede said: ‘We can all recall that the Eastern Region economy was at a point rated as the fastest growing economy in the world. At the root of it was agriculture, thanks to the visionary leadership of the former Premier of the region, Dr Michael Okpara.’
He said SEDC had, after extensive consultations, developed a blueprint to restore the region’s lost glory, beginning with agriculture and mechanised farming.
Hailing Governor Peter Mbah for his agricultural blueprint, Ogbede said similar projects would be established at Elugwu Akwu, Oji River Local Government Area, in Enugu West Senatorial District, and Nkpologwu, Uzo-Uwani Local Government, in Enugu North Senatorial District.
‘Governor Mbah nominated Nomeh for the programme. It is a good thing for this community because SEDC is going to bring the best possible agricultural knowledge, specialists, agro-entrepreneurs and improved seeds with greater yields, while supporting local farmers,’ he said.
Ogbede added that the projects would help reverse youths’ growing aversion to agriculture by creating enterprises around agricultural production, processing and marketing.
He also dismissed suggestions that the agromechanisation project was a ploy to acquire grazing lands for cattle herders, describing the allegation as untrue.
‘There is absolutely nothing like that. This is an entirely Southeast initiative for the benefit of the Southeast, then the nation. It is very untrue and not part of the blueprint,’ he said.
The Enugu State Liaison Officer to SEDC, Chief Edeani Edeani, said the Federal Government and Governor Mbah were determined to use agriculture to create jobs and tackle insecurity, adding that the projects would ensure that more spaces were gainfully occupied.
A community leader and Senior Special Assistant to Governor Mbah on Media, Uche Anichukwu, thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for establishing SEDC, recalling that previous attempts to create the commission had failed.
Anichukwu also commended SEDC Managing Director, Mark Okoye, and his team for making agriculture a pivot of the region’s economic revival, saying the community was grateful to President Tinubu and Governor Mbah for selecting Nomeh for the pilot project.
The traditional ruler of Nomeh Unateze, HRH Igwe Israel Okonkwo Mbah, represented by his traditional prime minister, Chief Daniel Anikpuma, said the project would restore the community’s pre-civil war economic glory, while the town union, represented by Engr. Uchenna Anyanwu, pledged its support for the initiative and the security of the project.