In line with the federal government policy of shifting from oil to the non oil sector of the economy with emphasis on agriculture, President Muhammadu Buhari has inaugurated four integrated farms (Songhai Model) developed by Benin-Owena River Basin Development Authority (BORBDA).
The farms located in Obayantor, Benin; Auchi, Etsako West; Okpe and Uneme Nekhua, in Akoko-Edo local government area of Edo State respectively.
Represented by the Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, President Buhari said the model farms underscored the importance the nation placed on agriculture in its quest to attain food sufficiency and exports.
While also inaugurating the newly completed Edo Area Office of BORBDA located in Auchi, he said that in view of the vagaries of weather and other factors inhibiting the traditional farming methods, the Songhai Integrated farm model remained the way to go if the nation must have food security.
According to him, “The focus of the integrated (Songhai Model) is on innovative system of agricultural production which is able to holistically integrate both primary and secondary products from the farm into good use such that there is absolutely no waste in the farm.
“The system is competitive, sustainable, preserving and incorporates human capacity building through training in basic business management and entrepreneurship necessary to prepare unemployed graduates and youths to undertake agricultural business,” he said.
Expressing satisfaction with BORBDA’s commitment in carrying out his earlier charge to the 11 river basins across the country to ensure the establishment of at least one integrated farm in each of the 109 Senatorial Districts in Nigeria, he commended the BORBDA for playing a leading role in this regard with the establishment of four of such farms in two of the three senatoria districts in Edo.
He also appreciated the cooperation of the various host communities to BORBDA’s projects and pleaded with them to develop an attitude that would make them perceive the projects as theirs.
Earlier in his address, the Managing Director, Benin-Owena River Basin Development Authority, Saliu Osifemhe Ahmed, said the will to establish the farms was borne out of the directive of the Minister of Water Resources, directing river basins across the country to set up an integrated farm in each of senatorial districts in every states of the country.
Ahmed said the integrated farms are production, processing, service rendering and research-based centres, adding that the federal government, in a bid to shift its entire focus from oil, has overtime continued to make consistent and deliberate efforts to improving on agriculture and its produce in Nigeria.
The BORBDA boss said agriculture has been identified as a key development priority in the efforts of government to increasing food security, reduce poverty and diversify the base of the economy.
He noted that several initiatives, programmes, seminars, conferences and lectures on agriculture have overtime, been and are continuously being sponsored by the government to achieve rapid growth and fully maximise the full potentials of agriculture with the aim of achieving national food security, job and wealth creation.
He said sequel to the carefully thought out initiatives of the National Agricultural Transformation Plan by the federal government, the BORBDA integrated farm was conceived and birthed, explaining that the whole exercise began in October 2017 at the authority’s headquarters in Obayantor and it recorded its first harvest in May 2018.
According to him, “Today, the integrated farm has spread through to the northern parts of Edo State of Auchi, Okpe and Uneme N’Ekhua, including the one in Ikole in Ekiti State which will spread to Ondo State next year.
