Ikpeazu inaugurates Abia poultry cluster

Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia on Wednesday inaugurated the Abia poultry cluster established to bridge the gap between knowledge-based and practical agriculture.

Speaking at the event, which took place at the site in Umunna-Nsulu in Isialangwa North, Ikpeazu expressed the need for potential farmers to understand the dynamics of poultry farming and imperatives of routine vaccination in poultry farming.

He said that the cluster would help to equip potential poultry farmers with the expertise for eliminating variables that affect the success of poultry production.

He commended Central Bank of Nigeria for its role in executing the project through the Accelerated Agriculture Development Scheme, saying that the scheme would help to improve food security.

Ikpeazu said that the project would also be replicated in Abia North and Abia South Senatorial Districts and the 17 local government areas of Abia.

The Commissioner for Agriculture, Prof. Ikechi Mgbeoji, said that Abia was the only state in Nigeria that had keyed into the project and completed it in record time.

Mgbeoji described the project as a testament of Abia government’s commitment to improve agricultural development in Abia.

In her remark, Mrs Uzoamaka Ikonne, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, said that Abia government had approved the establishment of a processing plant to address the issue of poultry product glut.

Ikonne said that the program would go a long way to provide an avenue for the unemployed youths in the state to become empowered and contribute to the state’s economic growth.

In his address, Mr Okey Igwe, the Chairman of Abia House of Assembly Committee on Agriculture, described the project as a catalyst for state and national economic growth.

Igwe said that the “Abia 7th House of Assembly is working to pass a Farm bill which is believed to harness and open the value chain of agriculture.”

Also, Mr Nonso Ogbunamiri, the Consultant Manager of Accelerated Agricultural Development Scheme, said that the scheme had the mandate to train no fewer than 1,000 youths in poultry farming.

Ogbunamiri said that “in a period of five years these farmers will be guided to the point where they will become capable to run a poultry.”

In his remark, Mr Innocent Nwankwere, a representative of Umunna-Nsulu community, thanked the state government for building an ultramodern poultry cluster in the community.

Nwankwere further said that the community would protect the facility against acts of vandalism to ensure that the programme would be a success.

Mr Camilius Ogbuagu, an official of CBN, commended the state government for keying into the project and setting the pace for other states to follow.

Ogbuagu said that the project would create a window for the state government to increase job creation and food security.

In an interview with our reporter Miss Glory Okeh, a beneficiary of the program, thanked Abia government for the opportunity to be equipped with knowledge and resources for running a poultry venture.