The Benin-Owena River Basin Development Authority (BORBDA) has set up integrated farms in five locations in Edo State in line with the agriculture support initiative of the President Muhammadu Buhari government.
The farm settlements, or Songhai model, are located at Obayantor, Benin City, Auchi, Okpe in Akoko Edo Local Government Area, and Uneme Nekhua, also in Akoko Edo Local Government Area.
The Managing Director of the River Basin Authority, Saliu Osifuemhe Ahmed, stated this at Auchi, Etsako West Local Government area of Edo State while declaring open a training programme for youths.
The theme of the event was: “Graduate Empowerment Programme Through Integrated Farm Training.”
Osifuemhe also said the Basin Authority was setting up similar farms in Ikole- Ekiti in Ekiti State and Iguedodo in Orhionwon Local Government Area of Edo.
The Basin Authority, he further said, “has developed arable land across its catchment area through the clearing of farmlands and making them available to farmers’’.
“We have cleared over 200Ha of farmland in addition to the over 500Ha that we had prior to the advent of the management of the Authority,” he said.
He said the Basin Authority had acquired two bulldozers for farmland clearing to enhance its internal operations.
“We have seven tractors acquired two years ago and have rehabilitated/refurbished four others. These tractors have been supporting farmers across our catchment states in ploughing, harrowing, ridging and other related operations to prepare farmlands for ease of primary production, ” he said.
He listed other initiatives of the Basin Authority in furtherance of Buhari’s mandate on agriculture as: Development of irrigation facilities to enhance all-year round production of crops across its catchment states
Such facilities are in Obayantor in Edo state, Illah in Delta State, Igbara – Oke in Ondo State, Suede-Ekiti in Ekiti State and Ukpoke in Edo State.
- Training of youths and farmers in the best agronomic practices for various crops and animals. A lot of training, Osifuemhe said, had been held.
- Sponsoring of 10 youths to Porto Novo in the Republic of Benin at the Songhai Regional Centre to be trained in the art of integrated agriculture. He said the youths upon their return, would be fully involved in the development of the BORBDA Integrated Farms in Okpe and Uneme-Nekhua communities of Akoko – Edo Local Government Area of Edo.
- Provision of input such as cassava stems, fertiliser, herbicides, among others to farmers in certain locations as well as extension devices where possible.
- Opening channels of collaboration with organisations such as NIRSAL, FMS Farms, Cocaset Nigeria Limited, the Food and Agriculture Organisation( FAO) of the United Nations to secure support in various ways for farmers.
According to The Nations Newspapers, he told the participants that ” these indeed are changing times in Nigeria and there is certainly a need to do something new and different to redirect the thinking of our people in terms of self-sufficiency.”
Participants at the training, aimed at promoting self- employment among youths via integrated farming, were from the five local government areas of Edo North Senatorial District.