Aloysius Attah, Onitsha

Anambra State Government has given commitment to provide  aids to farmers in the state willing to go into full scale cattle breeding with emphasis on Igbo specie of cows popularly known as Efi Igbo. 

Commissioner for Agriculture, Mechanisation, Processing and Export in Anambra State, Nnamdi Onukwuba, made this revelation, yesterday, during a visit to Eagle Food Processing Industries, at Umuchu in Aguata Local Government Area.

He stated that the Obiano administration was interested  and ready to make livestock grazing a serious business, especially rearing of the Igbo cow, adding that government was already making plans to expand cattle grazing across the local government areas.

Taking a holistic view of Eagle Food Processing Industries, the commissioner praised the founder and Managing Director, Prince Ugochukwu Okpalaeke, for his efforts in achieving such a giant feat in agriculture, in the  most important area of food processing.

He noted that he was marvelled to see that there was a farmer with hundreds of thousands of birds, a palm produce processing factory with cattle and other things in his farm, coupled with hundreds of workers as employees on his payroll.

Okpalaeke, who is also chairman of Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), the founder of Osimirri Farm Located at Umunze in Orumba South Local Government Area of the state, called on the governors of the South East states to provide farmers with strong aids to inspire and motivate them into the business of cattle breeding, lamenting that rich men were acquiring lands in Igboland against the pressing need to develop agriculture.

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Okpalaeke said farmers in the South East have the intention and were also capable of  breeding  cattle, but they are nowhere near what it takes to do the business in  terms of facilities like land, man power and funding.

The multipurpose farmer from Umuchu, who holds the National Productivity Order of Merit (NPOM) Award explained that the chances of making a successful venture into cattle breeding in the Southeast are very bright.

considering the fact that there is availability of grass and water noting it is important that each of the States of the Southeast and Local Government Areas should encourage farmers to go into cattle breeding business.

 

“Obiano is very friendly with farmers and that inspires and motivates agricultural production in Anambra. Other Commissioners before Onukwuba visited us here and that is to prove that the Governor is in touch with farmers. We have started breeding Efi Igbo with support of the Governor, but we need more aids to go further for mass production. My fear remains availability of land because these traders are buying off everywhere and the State has to take note of that” he said.