Hope for farmers as foreign, local firms announce multi-million dollar cassava project in Enugu

macfranc007 June 28, 2018 Nigeria News today & Breaking news ▷ Read Naija news 24/7 Tunde Ososanya

- Foreign and local firms have announced a multi-million dollar cassava project in Enugu

- The firms have a target to cultivate 11,000 hectares of cassava farms in 22 locations in the state

- The firms partnering together include Bimal Kishor Dhunna of United Kingdom, Belform Nigeria Limited, and other local partners

A multi-million dollar direct investment in cultivation of cassava in Enugu state has been announced by a Nigerian company and its foreign partner.

Vanguard reports that the project was announced in Enugu on Wednesday, June 27, by the chairman of Belform Commercial Agriculture Company Limited, Engr Martins Okwor.

NAIJ.com gathers that a target of 11,000 hectares of cassava farms would be cultivated in 22 locations of 500 hectares per cluster farm in the state.

According to Okwor, the project is in partnership with Bimal Kishor Dhunna of United Kingdom and Belform Nigeria Limited and other local partners.

He said they had started the project in Ikem, Isi Uzo local government area of the state, adding that it was aimed at empowering women and youths to produce cassava in large quantities for both local and export needs.

Okwor said that land would be fully developed for the purpose of allotting specific plots to the local farmers to provide seedlings, equipment, expertise management control and training facilities for the farmers to optimize production.

He added: “BCACL will buy the produce from the farmers at going market prices for further processing and export. It is a direct partnership with farmers where they own the farms and the company facilitates production through direct assistance."

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Meanwhile, NAIJ.com previously reported that many residents of Enugu, particularly those living on the outskirts of the city, embarked on cassava farming due to the high cost of garri in the market.

A teacher, Edwin Mba, said: “We must all get back to the farm in order to sustain our individual families or else, our children will all die of hunger."

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