Mbah: SEDC Agro Project Will Drive Enugu’s Transition From Subsistence To Commercial Agriculture
…Urges SEDC To Decentralise Investment, Create Agricultural Value Chains Across Enugu East
The Enugu State Government has described the South East Development Commission (SEDC) agro-development project at Nomeh Unateze, Nkanu East Local Government Area, as a major step towards transforming agriculture from subsistence farming into a commercially driven enterprise capable of reducing poverty, creating jobs and strengthening food security.
Governor Peter Mbah, represented by his Deputy, Barr. Ifeanyi Ossai, stated this recently at the flag-off ceremony of the project, saying strategic investments in agriculture were critical to lifting people out of poverty, expanding the middle class and strengthening the state’s economy.
The 200-hectare integrated model farm is the first project under SEDC’s South East Agro-Development Programme. It is designed to combine agricultural production with mechanisation, processing, training and linkages to surrounding farmers, and is expected to serve as a model for similar interventions across the South-East.
Ossai said the project underscored the importance of collaboration among the Enugu State Government, SEDC and local communities in creating an enabling environment for private-sector-led economic development.
“Food security is beyond providing food for our people. It has multiplier connotations that you can link to insecurity, poverty and government’s efforts to migrate the people from poverty to growth,” the Deputy Governor said.
He noted that agriculture remained one of the most accessible pathways to economic transformation, stressing that strategic investment in the sector could accelerate the transition from poverty to a middle-class economy.
Ossai explained that the state government’s investments in education, road infrastructure, security, healthcare and transportation were part of a broader strategy to create the foundations required for businesses and development partners to thrive.
He stressed that infrastructure was particularly critical to the success of agricultural investments, as investors required access to land, markets and transportation, as well as secure environments where their workers could live and operate.
The Deputy Governor, however, urged SEDC to establish an institutional framework that would guarantee the sustainability and expansion of the project beyond the tenure of its current leadership.
He cautioned against tying government investments too closely to the individuals who initiated them, stressing the need for strong institutional structures that would guarantee continuity.
“What is also important is that the SEDC must think through the fact that what we are doing here is wonderful, but I get concerned when government institutions invest directly in businesses because sustainability is always a problem,” he said.
Ossai also called on SEDC to decentralise its agricultural investments across the Enugu East Senatorial District by developing interconnected value chains that would enable communities beyond Nomeh to participate in the project.
He explained that while some residents might not be able to work directly at the facility in Nomeh, they could participate in the wider agricultural ecosystem by producing raw materials for the project’s processing facilities.
According to him, such an approach would extend the economic benefits of the project beyond the host community and stimulate agricultural development across the wider region.
The Deputy Governor further urged the people of Nomeh Unateze, traditional institutions, youth organisations and local authorities to take ownership of the project and protect the investment.
“Finally, for all of us gathered here, this is not a SEDC investment. It is our investment. We must protect it,” he said.
He said Enugu State could only build a truly private-sector-driven economy by creating an environment in which investors were confident that their investments would be protected.
Speaking at the ceremony, SEDC Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mark Okoye, said the Nomeh project was conceived not merely as a farming venture but as a model for integrating land, technology, mechanisation, production, processing, training and market access.
He said the project was designed to demonstrate what modern agriculture could look like in the South-East, with its impact expected to extend beyond the farm to surrounding farmers, young people and other participants across the agricultural value chain.
The Enugu State Government also commended the leadership of SEDC and President Bola Tinubu for the establishment of the Commission, which Ossai said provided an institutional framework for coordinating development across the South-East.
Ossai further commended the people and leaders of Nomeh Unateze for their cooperation in bringing the project to fruition, urging other communities that would host SEDC interventions across the state to emulate their commitment and partnership.
He reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to supporting initiatives that expand economic opportunities, strengthen food security and create sustainable pathways out of poverty for the people of Enugu.
EDITOR
Sam Udekwe is a journalist working in the News and Current Affairs department, Enugu State Broadcasting Service (ESBS) Enugu. He is well trained in all genres of journalistic venture.
Mr Sam read Mass Communication, graduating all with Distinction in National Diploma, Higher National Diploma and Postgraduate Diploma at IMT, Enugu and Madonna University, Okija, Anambra state, as well as M.Sc Mass Communication at National Open University of Nigeria.
He is the immediate past NUJ Chairman, Enugu state.
samowailo@gmail.com
