Tag: Edo farmers

A flood has taken over a section of the Benin-Akure highway, leaving many motorists stranded.

The flood sacked many farming camps in Uhiere, Owan and Agbanikeke communities.

Some houses were also submerged even as several farmlands were destroyed.

Farmers were seen using canoes to harvest their cassava and maize.

Youths in the community used canoes to help stranded passengers cross the flooded water by charging as much as N3000.

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Many motorists said they had spent four days waiting for the flood to recede.

One of the farmers who gave his name as Musa said he was expecting to make over N1m from his maize farm.

One of the boat operators, who gave his name as Amos, said they were only saving lives by helping  passengers cross the flood water.

 “This is a normal federal road. We have been here for over three days. This is the boundary between Owan and Agbanikaka. We don’t know where the water comes from.

“My community has been flooded. No lives have been lost.”

Another farmer, Raymond Pemu, said the flood had sacked his entire farm.

He said he invested over N2m and has lost all his harvest.

Pemu was seen alongside his wife trying to salvage cassava from his farm.

The Governor of Edo State, Monday Okpebholo, has stated that his administration will provide Edo farmers with the needed incentives in order to produce more food for the nation.

He noted that he launched the back-to-farm initiative, an agricultural revolution, to boost food production across the three senatorial districts of Edo.

Okpebholo spoke on Thursday while meeting with farmers at Iguoriakhi Farm Settlement in Ovia Southwest Local Government Area in Edo South senatorial district, described as 2,300 hectares of farm land, which was established in 1963.

He reiterated that Edo people were known for farming, and assured residents of the state that his administration would revive farming across Edo.

Edo governor assured that his back-to-farm initiative would not just be on paper, but in the field, and Nigerians would enjoy the benefits of abundant food production. 

He promised the farmers incentives such as fertilizers, farm machinery for mechanised farming, and loans to enable them to carry out the farming.

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Okpebholo said: “I want to thank the farmers, because they have been farming before, but this time, we will farm together. We want to produce food that will not only feed Edo State, but Nigeria.

“It is time for all of us to go back to the farm. Farming has become a very serious business, and together we will produce the food and feed our people.”

The Permanent Secretary, Edo Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. Osagie Aibuedefe, while earlier speaking, assured farmers that with an increased budget of over N70 billion, farmers in the state would greatly benefit from improved incentives to boost their farming activities.

The Vice President of Edo Farmers’ Association, Benson Enahikare, outlined some of the challenges facing the farmers, to include encroachment by cattle that had been destroying their crops.