By Adadareporters
Alhaji Sani Friday Nnaji, the chief executive of Ugwuanama Farms LTD, weekend, clarified the concept of the Produce City which his conglomerate entered into with the Enugu State government.
Mr Nnaji said the venture was to tap into the comparative advantage of Enugu State in cassava, maize and cereal plantations, adding that the partnership would create wealth and jobs for the state and Nigeria in general.
He told newsmen in Enugu that, “The company is aggressively investing in food production, particularly cereals and cassava which informed its Public Private Partnership with the state government for the development of a Produce City in Isi-Uzo Local Government Area. The Produce City will soon be commissioned by Gov Peter Mbah.”
He said his farm would introduce smart and mechanical agricultural systems aimed at developing outgrowers while his firm would be the off-takers.
In his words, “What this means is that the communities who are the land owners are the real farmers with our support. At harvest, we buy up their produce at the prevailing market prices.
“We have actually been in this practice for over four years in Isi-Uzo LGA. The beneficiaries can testify. We have already started the land development. We have collated data of farmers in Isi-Uzo and in Enugu East senatorial district as a whole. We intend to empower them with inputs, such as fertilizers, agro-chemicals, high breed seedlings and tools. We are going to mobilize youths to those sites where we farm mainly cassava and palm products.”
He said the firm had already established a cassava processing plant at Ikem, adding that, “We are going to produce ethanol from cassava. A majority of ethanol we consume in Nigeria are imported while we have the best raw materials in our land. With each six kilogramme of cassava, you can get one litre of ethanol. We are in the best position to harness the raw materials for the benefit of boosting rural economy.
“The value chain in cassava processing include human food, animal feeds, starch, and ethanol. We have cassava flour and other things. We target about five million tonnes of cassava every year.”
He said other parts of Nigeria that he had carried out the venture include Zamfara and Jigawa “where we have over 15,000 hectares of land that we have been planting crops, such as rice, maize, and cereals in commercial quantities.”
He said the business was extended to his country home, Mbụ, in Isi-Uzo in fulfilment of calls by Ohanaeze NdÃgbo for the Igbo to invest at home.
He said a memorandum of understanding he signed with the Enugu state government involved concessioning of 15,000 hectares of farm land in Isi-Uzo LGA.
In his words, “We are already concluding with the host communities on the social responsibility contracts. The land was given by the communities to the Enugu State government who in turn ceded the land for us for cultivation of crops.”
He urged the public to disregard some information alleging that the farming scheme was for RUGA. He said the Muslim background of the investors should not bring religious coloration into the venture.
He said, “Our agreement with the state spelt out that we are not going to do livestock there. We have decided to refrain from joining issues with individuals and groups linking our activities with animal farming. What we are doing is essentially crop production.”
Our correspondent reports that the masterminds of the scheme are mainly natives of Isi-Uzo, but with Islamic backgrounds, informing insinuations that they came to launch RUGA in the area.
