ONDO UPDATE:::::::: Ondo WECA signs Mou with Malaysian institute for cultivation of 500-hectares rice farm The Ondo State Wealth Creation Agency (WECA) said it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute for the cultivation of 500 hectares of rice in the state. It also said it would be leveraging on the N2bn Central Bank of Nigeria Agro fund available to the state in executing the project in addition to the cultivation of cassava and livestock production. Chairman of WECA, Mrs. Bolanle Olufunmiloye, while reviewing the activities of the agency in the last one year in Akure on Friday, said as part of efforts to get more young graduates involved in agricultural production, the state had secured an agreement with the Malaysian institute to execute a commercial rice production. She said the project is expected to generate income for young entrepreneurs who would be involved in the production, and create an alternative sources of revenue for the government. Olafunmiloye also noted that at the moment, the state produced one metric tonne per hectare, but the collaboration would see the state producing five times more per hectare with the deployment of best agricultural practices. “We have a N2bn fund by the CBN. This fund is for the production of food crops, honey production and other agricultural products. We intend to use part of this fund for the rice project,” she said. She said in 2014, 280 young graduates were engaged and assigned to the four Agro Business Cities and other units under WECA for training and practical knowledge. “In collaboration with the Federal Government under the SURE-P Graduate Internship Scheme, each graduate is provided a monthly stipend of N30,000. The graduates are also entitled to profit from the proceeds of sale of agricultural products they produce while in the Agro business cities,” Olufunmiloye said. She noted that other ABC activities include fish ponds and poultry pens at Epe ABC and raising of 4,500 broilers and 20,000 cat fish, adding that a 20-hectare cassava land had been prepared while 20 hectares of oil palm plantation had been rehabilitated.
Posted on: Sun, 21 Dec 2014 07:16:24 +0000
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