The Akwa Ibom Executive Council has approved N573 million for the production and processing of cassava to boost food production in the state.
The State’s Information and Strategy Commissioner, Mr Charles Udoh, disclosed this on Wednesday in Uyo while briefing newsmen at the end the State Executive Council meeting.
Udoh explained that out of the amount, N285 million will be disbursed to the farmers’ cooperatives involved in cassava cultivation while those involved in processing will get N288 million.
The commissioner said that the state Agriculture Commissioner had informed the State Executive Council that the Akwa Prime Hatchery owned by the state government had been upgraded.
Udoh said that the upgrade would boost daily production of the hatchery at Mbiaya in Uruan Local Government Area to 10,000 day old chicks per day.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the prime hatchery project started in the first year of Gov. Udom Emmanuel’s administration had technical hitches and could not make progress until now.
The commissioner expressed the hope that with the improvement of the capacity of the hatchery, poultry farmers would have access to day old chicks from the state at cheaper rate.
“As we speak today, the hatchery can produce 10,000 day old chicks and that reaffirms the commitment of the state government towards boosting agriculture and food sufficiency,” Udoh reiterated.
He said that the council had also approved the construction of the 8.5km Ndue Otong- Ibiaku- Ekritam road where the first private radio station in the state, the Planet FM is sited.
Udoh, who did not mention the cost of the road, explained that it had been re-awarded to another contractor following the inability of the former contractor to commence work as scheduled.
Other roads approved are the 12.9km Ikot Akpan Abia- Enen Nsit road spanning two council areas of Ibesikpo/ Asutan and Nsit-Ibom and the 4.99 Ibesit Okpokoro- Ikot Ibritam road in Oruk-Anam.
Udoh said that the administration of Gov. Udom Emmanuel was poised to deliver on its electioneering promises to the people in consonance with its cardinal programme of industrialisation and wealth creation.
