The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) is returning to the land in developing the nine states comprising the agency. It is also empowering indigenes of the states to till the land under its agriculture enhancement programme. NNEKA NWANERI reports.
In the fifties and sixties, agriculture was the mainstay of the economy. The regions then had commodities which generated revenue for them at the international market. The Western Region had cocoa; North, groundnut; East, coal and Midwest, rubber. Everything changed with the discovery of oil. The wealth that came from oil made the country to dump agriculture.
We are paying the price for our action today. With the fear that oil may soon dry up, reality has suddenly dawned on the country on the need to diversify the economy.
Many countries, among them Israel, have since seen the potentials in agriculture. Israel earns $714 million yearly from food export, while Nigeria spends billion of naira on imports.
The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) is tapping from Israel’s agricultural prowess for the benefit of its member states. The Israeli Embassy is collaborating with the NDDC to rejuvenate and modernise agricultural practices in the oil-producing region. The commission is also working in conjunction with other stakeholders in its efforts to reactivate the agricultural potentials of Niger Delta and empower farmers.
The commission has procured over 100 tractors for distribution to the ministries of agriculture in the nine Niger Delta states to boost food production. NDDC Managing Director Dr. Christian Oboh told reporters at the commission’s headquarters in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, that for Nigeria to tackle youth unemployment and be self-sufficient in food production, the country has to go into mechanised farming.
He said: “We have realised the need to fast-track the process of getting our youths to be properly engaged and also to ensure that we play our role in the transformation agenda of Mr. President especially in boosting agriculture. In this vein, NDDC has acquired over 100 tractors to support various ministries of agriculture in the nine states of the region to boost food production. These tractors will be distributed to cooperative societies or individuals who are ready to go into full time farming.”
The commission also facilitated the training of eleven agricultural engineers in mechanised farming. The beneficiaries were trained in India on tractor maintenance and operation and are now at the core of the commission’s mechanised agro-development plan across the region. Oboh described the engineers as worthy ambassadors whose knowledge would strengthen the N1 billion revolving loan scheme the commission initiated for Niger Delta farmers in partnership with the Bank of Agriculture.
He talked about NDDC’s determination to pursue programmes that would boost agriculture to make it compete with the oil sector as a major economic base in the region. He urged the beneficiaries of the training to use their skills and knowledge to further contribute to the development of agriculture in the region.
Mr Ene-Ita Ene Okpo and his colleagues who benefited from the training said they were grateful for the opportunity given them by the NDDC. He said they would put their experience into practice. “Our training was fruitful and rewarding, we were trained at the Research and Development Centre on how to dismantle and couple various kinds of tractors. We were exposed to the best practices in mechanised farming,” he said. Another beneficiary, Edikan Eshiet said they had a “very challenging period in India,” adding that with the experience gained, they were better equipped to handle tractors and other farming equipment.
NDDC’s Director, Agriculture and Fisheries, Dr. Godspower Amadi said the training arose from the need to train the staff who will further train others on tractor maintenance and operation. He said mechanised agriculture would enhance food production and create jobs for the youths. The director said the specialised training was part of efforts to boost food production through mechanised farming in the Niger Delta, noting that the NDDC had previously donated 27 tractors to the Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS) group, for delivery to farmer cooperatives in their respective host communities.
Amadi said in 2011, the NDDC flagged off the first phase of its Agricultural Credit Scheme meant to touch the lives of 1,660 youths from 166 cooperatives in the Niger Delta. He said N500 million was set aside as cash security deposit for the take off of the first phase of the scheme while N304 million was remitted to the Bank of Agriculture for the second phase of the programme.
According to him, the programme is also in line with the commission’s policy on agricultural development which emphasises wealth and job creation, food security and poverty reduction. The scheme, he said, was designed for Niger Delta youths, women and men who have been trained in various agricultural skills at the Songhai Delta, Amukpe, a reputable training institution in Delta State. The scheme, which is aimed at training youths in Niger Delta in various aspects of agriculture, took off in January 2008. The NDDC said it has trained over 6,500 youths of the region in various agricultural practices at Songhai.
“All NDDC Agric Skills graduates who have formed themselves into cooperative societies and have met necessary criteria for the credit scheme are encouraged to exercise patience for subsequent phases,” Amadi said.
He said the commission had so far trained 11,000 youths in various agricultural skills, out of which 1,100 are members of various cooperatives. He charged the beneficiaries to take advantage of the scheme, adding: “This programme, if properly embraced by you, shall bring about accelerated social economic transformation of the Niger Delta.”
The commission has promised to increase food supply by building rice processing mills across the oil producing states to produce rice in commercial quantity. Amadi said: “We started commercial rice farming as far back as 2007 with nine pilot farms in the region. Our giant rice processing plant at EleleAlimini in Rivers State will soon start churning out tonnes of high quality rice.”
