The Managing Director, Benin-Owena River Basin Development Authority (BORBDA), Engr. Saliu Ahmed, says President Muhammadu Buhari has taken deliberate steps to keep the promise of making agricultural development a priority with the commissioning of integrated farms in Edo state.
Ahmed, who said this while commissioning four Integrated Farm Schemes (Songhai Model) in Auchi, Edo State, said the development would ensure food security.
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He explained that the Integrated Farm are Production, Processing, Service Rendering and Research Based Centres.
Ahmed said the federal government has identified agriculture as a key development priority in its efforts to increase food security, reduce poverty and diversify the economy.
“Federal government is shifting focus from oil and has made deliberate efforts to improve on agriculture and its produce. Several initiatives and programmes have been sponsored by government to achieve rapid growth and maximize full potential of agriculture to achieve national food security, job and wealth creation.”
He added, “Such initiatives of the National Agricultural Transformation Plan by the federal government, the BORBDA Integrated Farm was conceived and birthed.”
He explained that the whole exercise began in October 2017 at the Authority’s headquarters in Obayantor, adding that it recorded its first harvest in May 2018.
“Today, the Integrated Farm has spread through to the northern parts of Edo State to Auchi, Okpe and Uneme N’Ekhua.We have also started one in Ikole in Ekiti State and hope to spread to Ondo State next year,” he said.
Daily Trust reports that the four the integrated farms are located in Benin, Auchi, Okpe and Uneme Nekhua on Edo State.
