ANAMBRA State Government has commenced additional measures to boost food production and increase rice cultivation.

Governor Willie Obiano said this when he visited Coscharis Farm at Anaku, Ayamelum Local Government Area.

The governor inspected ongoing land preparation to beef up the nutrient values in the soil.

The land preparation involves digging of deep canals round the farm to serve irrigation purposes as well as keep plants safe, in case of invasion.

Obiano expressed gratitude at the completion of land preparation.

He witnessed massive actions during the exercise noting that this could lead to success in agriculture, “a dream of my administration’’.

The governor observed that Coscharis Farm had already used up 2.8 hectares of land provided for agriculture, stressing that government would support them by granting them additional lands.

Obiano noted that the irrigation initiative, which the farm would introduce, would complement his administration’s efforts at supporting dry season farming.

Anambra would ultimately achieve 600 metric tons of rice production annually.

Cosmos Maduka, the investor, commended the governor for his initiative and huge investments in agriculture to achieve food sufficiency.

Maduka noted that the farm, which was a N2.8 billion project, would encourage different planting seasons, geared toward raising general food supplies.

Bharat Dhir, the general manager of the farm,  said they were committed to producing the best quality rice for the state and setting out models for rice production for other states of the country.

Meanwhile, Obiano also visited the Federal Government National Grains Reserve at Igbariam.

It was gathered that the reserve had been leased to Coscharis Rice farm, Anaku for the next 10 years.

The silos at the reserve, has capacity to store 25,000 metric tons of grains, which would be used to store paddy produced by the farm.

The Coscharis Mill would be capable of processing 150 metric tons daily.

After inspecting the facility, the governor said: “with this arrangement, the farm now has a wholesome plan that will guarantee improvements in the value chain, starting from planting,  up to processing and storage.”

“With what my administration has done toward supporting other rice farmers, especially through the FADAMA initiative, the vision of the state is to achieve 600 metric tons of rice annually is now becoming more realistic,’’ Obiano said.

Maduka, said the idea behind the lease hold was to produce fresh grains, fit for human consumption and capable of competing favourably with those produced in developed countries.

When completed, the mill and silos there would be prospects for electricity generation through the milling turbines as well as wealth creation.

– Mar. 12, 2018 @ 10:35 GMT |