IKENGA JOHNJUDE UCHENNA OKERE is a man in a hurry to bring total economic transformation to imo State with visible improvements in the general standard of living of Ndi imo. The governorship flagbearer of the Accord party is putting in place a comprehensive master plan for the revamp and sustainable development of many critical sectors of our economy, one of which is agriculture.
imo State is a state endowed with many potentials and resources in addition to the unparalleled resourcefulness of its people. We are always in the forefront in business, industry, entrepreneurship, etc. This is not as a result of any special policy direction by the state government but in spite of the bad governance in the state. Agriculture is an area imo State has a comparative advantage in with plenty room for expanding the frontiers. However due to lack of genuine attention to the sector by the APC-led government for some years now, agriculture is now getting relegated to the background. This informed the resolve by ikenga JohnJude okere to take up the agricultural sector as a priority area that his administration will face once he is massively voted in as Governor by Ndi imo.
ikenga JohnJude’s agricultural revolution plan will be anchored on three key deliverable components, which include:
– Crop and livestock development
– Agricultural produce value addition
– Secure farmlands
Under crop and livestock development component, ikenga JohnJude okere is planning to identify crops/areas where each of the local government areas with arable farmlands has comparative advantage on and then embark on aggressive specialization deploying mechanization and latest crop science and technology. Interventions by government in this regard will be through provision of machineries and other inputs, provision of fast yielding and disease resistant cuttings, seeds and seedlings which will see a lot of plantations coming on stream. Irrigation farming will be supported in areas where mini dams can be established to encourage all-year-round farming. Extension services will be made available to all farmers especially the small holder farmers. Access to arable lands for farming will be made less cumbersome while encouraging cooperative farming.
For the livestock sub-component, ikenga JohnJude Okere is keen to make imo State self-sufficient in livestock especially poultry, fish and cattle. Part of the plan involves encouraging our people to go into cattle farming in order to guarantee local supply of meat and dairy products. Varying scales of poultry and fish farms will receive seed funding at zero interest rates from the state government.
On value addition to agricultural produce, ikenga JohnJude okere is going to midwife the birth of a whole new agricultural value chain in imo State. Great emphasis will be placed on processing of agricultural produce to mitigate post-harvest spoilages and losses. More silos will be constructed in some of the Local government and strategic grain reserve in ohaji or Ngor okpala axis to enable long-term storage and price stability of agro products. Cold room storage facilities including mobile ones would be established in strategic areas to enhance storage of meet and dairy products in a safe and hygienic environment. Ikenga JohnJude’s government will encourage the establishment of small and medium scale industries that will process various farm produce into finished products with a shelf life of between 12 months to 3 years that can be sold across Nigeria or exported to earn foreign exchange for imo State.
The final component is ensuring a safe and secure environment for farming and other agricultural activities to thrive in imo State. To achieve this, Ikenga JohnJude Okere will work with the security agencies to establish an Agro Rangers unit to respond proactively to security incidents that have gross impact on the ability of farmers to freely cultivate their land especially in the light of frequent clashes between herders and our farmers, which often times lead to avoidable deaths and carnage.
IKENGA JOHNJUDE UCHENNA OKERE places premium importance on agriculture due to the capacity of the agricultural sector to provide jobs in quantum and lift hundreds of thousands of our youths out of poverty. Ikenga sees agriculture as a potential strong contributor to our GDP growth and by extension the biggest provider of employment and wealth to Ndi imo.
Imo State will experience the touch of a genius who has the foresight and capacity to mobilize human and material resources to transform our dear state when Ndi imo troop out to the poll on November 11th, 2023 to elect IKENGA JOHNJUDE UCHENNA OKERE as the Executive Governor of imo State and bring to a final end APC’s reign of confusion, deceit and stagnation in imo State.
Ndi imo, let us make a revolutionary governor come November 11th, 2023
#ikengaJohnjudeForGovernor
©james Peterson ✍️
