… As Agric Commissioner Visit Beneficiaries Of DCARES Result Area 2
Delta State, Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr. Godfrey Enitan has assured farmers in the state of more support from the state government.
Enitan gave the assurance during a joint monitoring visit to sub project sites of beneficiaries of Delta State Covid-19 Action Recovery and Economic stimulus (D-CARES) Programme under Result Area 2 being implemented by the State FADAMA Co-ordination Office (SFCO) in Igbodo and Obinomba respectively.
He said it would help improve food security in the state.
He said the state Government was ready and committed to support small, medium and large scale farmers in the State by providing them with agricultural inputs and other necessary supports, having come to get a firsthand information of their problems and challenges.
While commending the beneficiaries he promised them of the unrelenting and co-ordinated support of the Ministry in achieving food security in the State, adding that the Ministry of Agriculture has a crop of very seasoned and experienced staff who were ever ready and willing to help when consulted.
On his part, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Mr Ben Agamah thanked the farmers for being committed to the successful use of all the Agricultural inputs and assets given to them and for managing their farms.
He commended the farmers for remaining steadfast in their business despite the challenges of getting feed for their pigs.
He advised the pig farmers, who had earlier complained about the high cost of feeds, to learn to use alternative and cheaper sources of feed such as cassava peels and vegetables as substitutes so as to reduce the effect of the rising cost of feeds, he also advised the farmers to team up and order for feeds at the same time from major distributors so as to reduce cost.
He emphasized that the present cost of transportation of goods was another factor affecting the cost of feeds and disclosed to them that the State Government under Governor Okowa had graciously established three feed mills, one at Expan, Warri South LGA, which is currently operational, another at Owanta in Ika North East LGA which had been completed before it was vandalized.
He however said that the consultant had been asked to go back to site and that the mill would soon be operational before the end of the year.
The Technical Head D-CARES Result Area 2 Mrs Judith Kayode, while addressing the farmers told them that the Hon. Commissioner and the PS were on inspection tour so as to confirm the activities of D-CARES RA2 and report back to the State Government.[
In another development, the benefiting farmers at Igbodo community, speaking through their Chairman Mr. Celestine Ofuokwu complained of insecurity and very ugly menace of herdsmen, saying that many of their crops farms were subjected to regular attacks and destruction by herdsmen and their cattle.
They therefore pleaded for government intervention to save them from imminent hunger and scarcity.
On his part, The President General of Igbodo Community Mr. Igah Peter thanked the State Government for the programme, saying that the intervention had taken the community to another level of agricultural production and food security.
At Obinomba Community in Ukwuani LGA, the farmers again thanked the State Governor, Sen. Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa for keying into the CARES programme and that as beneficiaries, the programme has in no small way helped them to bounce back into agricultural production after the devastating effect of the Covid-19 pandemic
