A’Ibom govt adopts multi-pronged approach to tackling hunger – Offor

Ini Billie, Uyo

The Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Offiong Offor said the Akwa Ibom State Government is adopting a multi-pronged approach to tackling hunger, especially among the poorest of the poor in the state.

According to Offor, Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State administration is embarking on massive food production through investments in agriculture.

He added that seven local government areas in the state have provided lands to support food production.

“The government is funding agricultural cooperative societies, providing lands, fertilizers, improved seedlings, cassava stems, loans and grants and constructing rural roads all in a bid to increase food production.

“Food sustainability remains the priority of Governor Umo Eno’s administration. The first thing is that the Ministry of Agriculture merged with the Ministry of Rural Development which also has a component of cooperatives.

“He was deliberate in doing this because the cooperatives system is the system that is driving food productivity anywhere in the world.

“The state government has a database of farmers and is working with farmers associations such as the All Farmers Association of Nigeria, Rice Farmers Association, and Aquaculture Associations in the 31 local government areas of the state.

“The government is also working with market unions to supply staple foods at subsidized prices. It has provided cold rooms, fishing nets and boats to artisanal fishermen,” Offor stated.

Earlier, the state government had said it was targeting 600,000 vulnerable households captured in its social register for the various intervention programmes aimed at ameliorating economic hardship in the state.

The government said it has a total number of 2.3 million individuals registered in the social register structured to capture people in the villages, wards and local government areas of the state.

Commissioner of Economic Development, Mr Emem Bob, said this during a media interaction in Uyo on Monday, tagged ARISE Scorecard and with the theme, “Food Sufficiency and Security.”

Bob noted that the social register has existed for the past 8 years, and Governor Umo Eno, ordered that it should be expanded to accommodate those who have fallen under the poverty line.

“The social register is well-structured, it’s structured in such a way that we have broken the villages, wards and local local governments, these make up the state social register. The total number of people we have in the social register is 2.3m as  individuals

On his part, the Commissioner of Information, Mr Ini Ememobong, commended Governor Eno for the various interventions programmes aimed at addressing the current hardship in the state.