Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan has harped on the need for effective collaboration of host communities with government to ensure maximum benefits of projects sited in their areas.
Speaking during an inspection of the 500 hectares cassava mechanised farming project at Abraka, Ethiope East Local Government Area of the State, the Governor said that project undertaken by the Federal Government in collaboration with the Delta State Government, would boost food security and create jobs for the people.
He said the project was an indication that the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan was on course, stressing that direct employment and the subsequent multiplier effect in empowering the people was unimaginable.
Accordingly, he enjoined the host community, Umiaghwa-Abraka, to remain peaceful and supportive of the cassava project in order to benefit maximally from it.
Governor Uduaghan who was conducted round the project by Dr. Martin Fregene, a Senior Technical Advisor to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, reiterated his commitment to the full development of the project particularly the timely construction of the processing plant and access road.
He said that the construction of the processing plant which was earlier delayed because of the initial challenges of the farm site, would be fast tracked to be ready to process the cassava in nine months time.
Dr. Fregene assisted by officials of the National Centre for Agricultural Mechanisation, Ilorin, Kwara State said one hundred and fifty hectares of land has been cultivated out of the five hundred hectares of the project’s first phase.
He said what has been cultivated would yield between twenty and twenty five metric tonnes of cassava daily per hectare adding that the project which was modeled after cassava projects in Southern Brazil would produce enough cassava flour to meet the federal government ten percent cassava flour requirement in bread.
Besides, Dr. Fregene disclosed that the plant would process cassava starch and ethanol for export thereby giving the nation foreign exchange noting that when fully completed the project would create a minimum of fifteen thousand direct jobs excluding the indirect jobs.
He thanked Governor Uduaghan for giving support to the project and assured Deltans that the project would revolutionize cassava production in Delta State and South-South at large.
Earlier at the palace of the traditional ruler of Umiaghwa-Abraka, Avwaeke I, Air Vice-Marshal Lucky Ararile (Rtd)
Governor Uduaghan informed the people that the project was put in place by President Goodluck Jonathan to expand the nation’s economic development base through agriculture adding that Delta State had keyed into the programme through the ‘Delta Beyond Oil’ policy.
While thanking the Umiaghwa-Abraka monarch for his support, Governor Uduaghan assured the traditional ruler of the commitment of the federal and state government to complete the project because of its potentials.
He disclosed that a committee of the stakeholders comprising the federal and state governments and the Umiaghwa-Abraka community would be inaugurated soon to interface on the project culminating in a memorandum of understanding.
Governor Uduaghan paid tribute to the traditional ruler for his contribution to the success of the federal government amnesty programme as well as the prevailing peace in the Niger-Delta region.
The Ovie of Umiaghwa Abraka, commended President Jonathan and Governor Uduaghan for the project saying the project would guarantee increased food production and the creation of jobs.
He advised the federal government to put in place a memorandum of understanding for the project to guarantee a sense of belonging for the community.
The Traditional ruler appealed to the federal government to increase the capacity of the plant to its original 250 metric tonnes and twelve thousand hectare landmass from its present 500 hectares.
