Hardship: NGO Unveils N7.3bn Agribusiness, Job Creation Scheme

A non-governmental organisation (NGO) committed to agro-allied entrepreneurship schemes has expressed concerns over the prevailing hardship occasioned by the country’s dwindling economy, proffering that the problem requires holistic action by all stakeholders, including non-state actors, for total redemption.

Towards this end, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Idara Medical Outreach and Humanitarian Aid (IMOHA), based in the United States, has pledged to invest N7.3 billion in mass agriculture, involving the entire value chain in the sector, to boost food sufficiency, poverty alleviation, and job creation for the teeming youths.

Speaking in an interview in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, on Thursday, Lady Idara Enyong disclosed that Plans have been concluded to site the project on 30 hectares of land at the agrarian community of Ikot Nsung Ikono in Uyo, local government area.

She said, “The project aims to impact sustainable agricultural practice to boost increased crop production and meet the ideal food adequacy programmes for the populace.

“The initiative will incorporate vast areas of cultivable land and modern farming techniques and applications will be deployed to deliver optimal and critical crop yields and staple production.”

Coming from the background of a determined investor, Lady Enyong, assured of her genuine commitment to ensuring that a better life is made more abundant and meaningful for the collective good through her pet- project.

“The project will cover more than 30 – hectares and we are ready to leverage intensive investments in the agricultural sector to bolster health and meet the nutritional needs of the State’s residents, especially the aged and very vulnerable persons.

“The present food challenges and shortages that confront the nation on a very scary scale pose a serious social and survival threat to everyone. These calls for urgent and serious remedial attention from everyone,” she stressed.

Commending Governor Umo Eno on what she described as “his proactive action to combat hunger and food insecurity through the laudable introduction of pro-farming policies,” she said the monthly two – days farming holidays for civil servants are a clincher to boosting farming activities and more food production.”

The United States-based healthcare worker also reasoned that, “while health and nutrition go together, only very serious and intensive investments in agriculture can adequately guarantee the needed reliefs of ensuring the wellness and well-being of the people.”