Ahead of the new farming season, Ezema community, in Mgbagbu-Owa, Ezeagu Local Government Area of Enugu State is taking the lead for an agro-revolution.
OsunDailyNG reports that indigenes of the community and other surrounding areas gathered over the weekend where discussions and plans were mapped out on how to pursue an agricultural revolution this 2024.
The facilitators of the event, Mr Ozokolo Suday and Mr Pascal Aneke told journalists that Ezeagu Local Government Area has the capacity to feed the entire Enugu State and beyond.
They, however, said there was the need for incentives, as well as government intervention on the poor road network in the area.
According to Ozokolo, “with my experiences outside the shores of Nigeria, I discovered that Ezeagu has the capacity to engage in extensive farming. We have the arable land, we have the water, even capacity for irrigation.
“So, when I returned, I felt that we needed to encourage our people to return to the farm.
“The economy is biting harder; there is no job anywhere; the only alternative now is agriculture.
“Sadly too, most youths have abandoned agriculture in search of quick means of livelihood; some believe agriculture should be left for aged men; but it should not be so.
“Some of the things we are doing today is that those who come with the biggest yam will receive some incentives. We will weigh it, if it happens that your own is the biggest, you will get some level of encouragement, including fertilisers.
“This is why you can see many people coming here today with different sizes of yam; we have a mechanism to be sure it was cultivated in Ezeagu.”
Also speaking, Mr Aneke cried out to the government over the poor state of roads in Ezeagu.
“I enjoin the media to take a look at some of our roads before you leave today; you will find out that they are in a sorry state.
“The poor state of our roads is a big set-back to what we are envisioning ahead of the 2024 farming season.
“If the farmers don’t have access road to convey their produce to the markets, it becomes a problem.
“So, our appeal today to the Enugu State government is to declare emergency work on some of the roads in Ezeagu and I can assure you that the benefits will be felt by the entire state.
“Our people have the capacity to feed the entire state and beyond,” he stated.
Meanwhile, the guest speaker at the event, Mrs Ifeoma Obidiaso, emphasised the massive benefits of agriculture to the youths.
Her speech was titled: “Agriculture as a developmental means in the rural community.”
She noted that women in the rural areas should be encouraged to go into large scale farming.
She regretted that farming in the area had gradually going into extinction, hoping that the programme would help revitalize it.
“We need to make communities understand the importance of agriculture in their environment.
“There is need for people to go into farming as a means of driving away poverty, develop themselves and sustain themselves through it,” she said.
