Kogi State has witnessed significant growth in its agricultural sector, with 76 farm clusters covering 10,000 hectares of land cultivated by over 8,000 farmers under Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo administration......CONTINUE READING THE ARTICLE FROM THE SOURCE>>>>>
This was disclosed by Ismaila Isah, the Media Aide to Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo of Kogi State, while speaking to journalists in Kaduna on Sunday.
According to Isah, the government has invested over N10 billion in agriculture and recovered and refurbished over 150 tractors, resulting in estimated savings of between N20bn to N50bn.
He said, “The agricultural sector has also seen significant growth, with 76 farm clusters covering 10,000 hectares of land cultivated by over 8,000 farmers. The government has invested over N10 billion in agriculture and recovered and refurbished over 150 tractors, saving an estimated N20-50 billion.
“What is also interesting is that, government is providing all the implements, all the seedlings, the inputs including fertilizers for free. Our round the year farming which was flagged off recently with our dry season farming witnessed a lot of input from the government.”
Speaking further, Isah noted that the state was experiencing rapid development in various sectors, including security, education, healthcare, and infrastructure as well.
“In the last one year, we have been able to create a trajectory that probably has never been seen in the history of the state. There has been some kind of dynamism in government, there have been deliberate attempts to bring the governance closer to the people,” Isah said.
He added that the state government has increased logistical support for security agencies, providing over 300 vehicles and 1000 specialized motorbikes”with recruitment of over 3000 vigilante personnel and increased salaries.”
“We take the fight to terrorists because there’s no time to start negotiating with them because they cause a lot of havoc and this approach has been copied by other states like Kwara, Ekiti, Ondo, Benue, and even to some extent, Niger and Nasarawa,” he said.
In the education sector, he said, Kogi State has inaugurated a Human Capital Development Council, increased investment in education by 30%, and approved N1.2 billion for external examinations.
“We are told that most of our states in the north are still using the 1959 education law but I’m told that about two or three states in the north now are trying to learn from what Kogi has done with its education law which has informed education in the state and ensured that we do not go below the minimum benchmark of 26% of the UNESCO requirement as budgetary allocation for education,” Isah said.
He added that the state has also revitalized over 150 health centers and increased bursary payments to students.
He continued that the Ododo’s administration has also prioritized youth inclusion in governance, policies in agriculture, and rural development, with over 465km of roads being constructed across the state.
“Right now, we are building a major international market in Lokoja which has about 12 different markets including its ultramodern market but we are now moving the market to a more spacious space, over 15 hectares of land have been allocated for that project and this will help us to aggregate all our market resources in the State,” he said.
The market, he added, will be built with hotel facilities, cleaning, police post, an abattoir, a shopping mall, and everything one can think about in a modern market arena.
Isah added, “we are also setting up processing facilities in the three senatorial districts; one in Alape, one in Osara, and one around Ofu. The Industrial Park that the Governor has proposed is taking off this year, already about 3000 hectares have been allocated for it and we are about unveiling an anchor investor that will help thrive the project.”