Enugu govt seeks public/private partnership to boost agriculture

October 22, 2012 21:17

Audio attached

Enugu govt seeks public/private partnership to boost agriculture

NAN-H-122

Fertiliser

Enugu, Oct. 22, 2012 (NAN) The Enugu State Government said on Monday that it would partner the private sector to boost food production in the state.

 

Prof Martin Anikwe, the state Commissioner for Agriculture, said this in Enugu while declaring open a one-day farmers’ workshop on the use and application of liquid fertilisers (AG-ZYME), a product of Zenith Energy Enzymes Ltd.

 

He said that government was no longer keen in subsidising agriculture inputs, but to allow the big players, input dealers and producers to synergise and ensure food sufficiency.

 

Anikwe said that government interference had affected food production activities in the state.

 

On the new liquid organic fertilisers, the commissioner urged farmers to embrace the product as it would guarantee bumper harvests and food sufficiency.

 

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``What we recommend actually is what we call an integrated nutrient management approach, where we use different kinds of nutrients to serve our crops and animals.

 

``So it is not fair to say that we should abandon every other type of fertiliser that we have been using in the market.

 

‘’All we are saying is that we should embrace A-Zyme. All of them, they have different kinds of merit, so we support all of them.’’

 

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In his remarks, the National Vice President of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Chief Ike Ubaka, said that the association would partner with government to educate its members on the new product.

Ubaka noted that farmers had suffered low or no inputs for some years now, which he said, contributed to low yields.

 

He said that the new project fertiliser, which has 33-40 per cent yield advantage over the inorganic fertilisers, youths would be wooed into agriculture with a buy-back technology.

 

Ubaka said that with bumper harvest using the fertiliser, farmers would be encouraged to set-up micro cottage processing units to revolutionise agriculture.

 

Presenting the product, Mr Umaru Attah, the General Manager, (Retails), Zenith Energy Enzymes, said the product which was packaged in five categories was crop and human-friendly and would be sold at the cost of N1,200 per 500ml bottle.

He said that it was available and affordable with one state distributor, one local government dealer and 30 agents in each of the 17 local government areas of the state.

 

In his speech, Chief Alfred Eneh, the Chairman of AFAN in the state, said the input was good for all forms of agriculture, fish farming, animal husbandry, arable crops, tree crops planting, among others.

 

Eneh urged farmers to embrace the new product, adding that machineries had been put in place to apprehend adulterators or those attempting to fake the product.

 

The workshop was attended by farmers from all the 17 local government areas, traditional rulers, stakeholders in the agriculture sector and other dignitaries. (NAN)

 OIF/MSAD

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