FG, Abia plan to engage 3,000 youths on farm estate

The Federal Government and Abia State Government have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, (MoU) to engage 3,000 youths to revamp the Ogwe Golden Chicken Farm Estate in the state.

Also, the Federal Government announced on Sunday that it had commenced the establishment of over hundreds of fish ponds in two states, which would be inaugurated in October this year.

The Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer, National Agricultural Land Development Authority, Paul Ikonne, said the ongoing projects by the Federal Government were based on the directives of the President, Muhammadu Buhari.

Ikonne said in a statement issued by his agency in Abuja that Buhari directed NALDA to rehabilitate all farm estates across the country, adding that the Ogwe Golden Chicken in Ukwa East Local Government Area of Abia State was inclusive.

Ikonne informed the Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu that the NALDA team was in Abia to formalise the understanding on the rehabilitation of the poultry farm estate and reduce unemployment in the state.

He disclosed that the first phase of the farm estate project in the state would be inaugurated in December this year.

Ikonne said, “The MoU for Ogwe Golden Chicken Farm Estate is simple. The Abia State Government has made the land available for the facility. The President has mandated us to develop it in order to engage youths from that community.

“NALDA programmes are community-based and this one is engaging 3,000 youths in the entire poultry value chain. What this means is that Abia will be known for egg production and finished chicken products in Nigeria.

“Ogwe Golden Chicken is going to have many facilities because the land is over 300 acres and with that size, we will have the processing and hatchery points, residential and production areas, in terms of producing feeds, as well as the packaging area.”

According to him, Abia was entitled to three integrated farm estates and urged the governor to donate land for the two other remaining farm estates.

Speaking on the fish ponds, he said the facilities were ongoing under NALDA’s Women in Fishery Programme, stressing that 50 of the ponds were being constructed in Ikwuano Local Government Area of Abia State, while others were in Borno State.

Ikonne said the ponds in Borno were being constructed in 50 different locations, while about 50 ponds in 10 locations in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, would be inaugurated in October this year.

The Abia governor assured of the state’s support to the programmes of the Federal Government in Abia, adding that his government would strive to ensure that the agreements in the MoU were implemented successfully.