Revemi Trade Limited, the award winner of COVID-19 Food Security Challenge 2021, says it is targeting 10,000 Cassava farmers in Delta State to be provided with access to market and other information they need to produce cassava in larger quantities so as to boost their income and increase Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The company believes that with the collaboration of it’s sponsors and partners, the farmers could go beyond peasant farming to commercial farming as they embrace mechanical method of agriculture.
They are expected to do so especially as cassava has been listed among commodities from Delta’s State with comparative advantage for export.
Already, the firm said it has reached out to 2,000 farmers in the state since September last year when it began the support programme.
Oreva Amata, the chief executive officer (CEO) of the company made the disclosure while addressing newsmen at the end of the one-day enlightenment programme, tagged, “Eki Farmer Support Programme” which held at Ozoro, the headquarters of Isoko North Local Government Area, Delta State, on Friday.
The enlightenment programme under the sponsorship of the United States International Agency for Development (USAID), has other partners like the Delta State Government through the Ministry of Agriculture, the UNIDO/Delta State Export Initiative and the Delta Small Medium Enterprise Development Office, Delta Job and Wealth Creation Office (YAGEP) amongst others.
Oreva, a development economist, said that engaging the farmers is part of the company’s efforts towards bridging critical gap of food security in Africa.
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“Everytime, I hear farmers are poor but at the same time, I am seeing foreign multinationals make billions from agriculture.
“I think there must be a way to do things differently not just in Nigeria. Africa can begin to benefit from agriculture.
The 28 year old who is a native of Isoko, revealed why he decided to start the programme from Delta State. “For me, it is very important I start this project from my state (Delta) because charity begins at home.
‘We are planning to expand from here but my initial dream was to get farmers, link them up to people like Sam Askia in the best way possible and in the most cost effective way, so that we can begin to increase these farmers’ income and how much they earn.
He frowned at the fact that the farmers use cutlasses and holes as tools instead of modern technology and harped on the need to change the narratives, towards progress.
“Agriculture is the first stage of development because it is the backbone of industrialization and job creation. There are so many unemployed youths in Delta State. We can engage them, he said.
To this end, he urged the farmers to form clusters of cooperative societies in order to benefit from the programme and grow to become mechanized farmers.
Sam Askia, managing director, Uzere Cassava Processing Factory in the state commended Revemi Trade Limited and its sponsor, the USAID for the initiative.
He called on the farmers to see farming as a business so they could benefit from the support initiative as well as gain from programmes that the government at the centre gives.
On the other hand, he challenged the government to provide an enabling environment for commercial farming to succeed.
“The job of the government is to provide enabling environment but it is the job of the citizens to take up their businesses seriously.
“If we say we are moving away from peasant farming to commercial agriculture, then, we must be able to develop the right template for that because if we have peace, security and favourable policies on agriculture, I think the issue of land will be the least of our problems.
Others who spoke at the occasion were Friday Okei, a public analyst who encouraged the farmers to improve their processing methods so as to
give value addition to their cassava for their products to attract huge buyers and make it beyond the local markets. We have products like flour, fufu, chips, and starch which are in cassava value-chain, he said.
Also, Emikpe Anselem, assistant director of crops in the Delta State Ministry of Agriculture, Asaba, lectured the farmers on the topic, “Sustainable Cassava Production in Delta State”, educating them on the best agronomic practices they must embrace to achieve a higher yield in cassava production.
In separate interviews, Martha Odus and Prince Lawrence who were among the participants lauded the organizers of the programme, saying the programme has brought the farmers in Isoko together.
While promising to put what they have learnt into practice, they said their people were ready to work even as they expressed hope that the support programme would help them grow their businesses.
