Anambra Experiencing Agriculture Boom under Soludo – Commissioner

By Praise Chinecherem

Anambra State has witnessed boom in rice production, cassava, fish farming and animal husbandry within two years and some months of Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo’s led administration.

Commissioner for Petroleum and Natural Resources, Barrister Anthony Ifeanya, who made the submission in a press interview during the Anambra 2024 New Yam Festival at Alex Ekwueme Square, Awka, said that there was rice production boom in Ayamelum Local Government Area and other parts of the state this year.

Attributing the laudable feat in the state to the way and manner Governor Soludo was giving support to the Commissioner for Agriculture in the state and other stakeholders of Solution team, Barrister Ifeanya noted that the agric revolution policy of the Governor on palm and cocoanut seedlings, rice production, and animal husbandry were exponentially gathering momentum.

While stressing that no part of the state was lagging behind in the agric revolution policy of Governor Soludo’s administration, the Commissioner described Anambra State as one of the best states in the whole of Nigeria when it comes to agriculture and foods production.

The Commissioner said that the event was designed for promotion of Igbo and traditions, describing yam as the king of all crops in this part of the world.

“People do not play with yam, in olden days, to know the worth and a quality of man is through the numbers of his bans, hence they do answer Diji, Udeji”, he said.

Adding that the celebration of yam is age long in Igbo land, the Petroleum Commissioner maintained that people had gone a long way in celebrating new yam festival in the area.

“So, what Mr Governor is doing is to promote the culture of Igbo race as a good son of the soil and as a man who is of excellence in everything he does for the state.

According to him, Governor Soludo wants to bring our cultural festivities to a higher level by celebrating the new yam festival, which he said had become annual event in Anambra State, pointing out that the Governor did it last year and now doing it this year again.

He stated that the Governor had done more than well in agricultural sector in the state, reminding the youths who are running away from agriculture to yahoo yahoo that there is dignity in labour.

“Hard work is what Igbos are known for, not laziness, but hard work. In the olden days, before a man could marry somebody’s daughter, the first question they would ask him is, what do you do for a living, what is you profession”, he harped.

He stated that if the person happened to be a famer that he is in a better stand, because it is a well known fact that he must farm in order to feed his family, regretting that our youths are now into quick-money-making syndrome and other evil practices that go with it.

“This is what I did not understand, especially now the costs of farm produces are quite expensive in the country.

“Even palm produce is expensive now, cost of living is expensive, it is no longer in the olden days when the people used to say that the farmers are poor”, he opined.

“No, farmers are not poor now, unless the person who did not know that what he is doing, if you go to the Western world, America to be precise, the richest men there are farmers through mechanized farming, the Commissioner, further hinted.

He expressed hope that Anambra state will soon get there, describing agriculture as a very proud and lucrative profession from ages.

To him, Anambra State Chairman, Urban Regeneration Council, Artech Michael Okonkwo, who spoke on significance of the event, described it as a clarion call for Ndi-Anambra to embrace agriculture for them to feed optimally and make money, especially now the country is under going series of economic challenges.

In their separate speeches, the Mayor of Njikoja Local Government Area, Barrister Dominic Chinedu Ononuba and the National Vice President, Ohaneze -Nigbo Worldwide, Ichie Deminia Okeke Ogene, maintained that the event tends to bring Ndi-Anambra together as one of their preeminent culture and traditions which he said had binds them together over the years.

They also described the event as all embracing and very important in the people’s lives, advising Ndi-Anambra, especially the youths to key into the agricultural policy of Governor Soludo so that they would have alternative means of livelihood to cushioning the negative economic happenstances in the country.