By Nekpen Maureen Nwine

Centuries ago when Daniel Webster made his popular statement ‘’when tillage begins, other arts follow, the farmers, therefore become the founders of human civilization’’, it had very little or no impact on the African mind.

But now, nations have come to terms with the realization that the Agriculture sector is not one to be ignored if any meaningful development is to be achieved at any given point in time.

This is particularly so for Edo State as the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration has not only taken cognizance of the importance of the agriculture sector to development, but has taken giant strides in making the sector even more beneficial than expected.

With over 57,000 hectares of land allocated to small holders and large scale oil palm plantation investors in four local government areas of the State, under the Edo State Oil Palm Programme (ESOPP), the State Government has demonstrated a mind boggling quotient of preparedness to launch the State into an era of economic boom.
This is in recognition of the contributions of small holder farmers in the oil palm sector which accounts for over 60 percent of crude oil palm produced globally.

Despite the fact that Nigeria is currently Africa’s largest oil palm producer and the fifth in the world, with almost 2.5 million hectares of land under cultivation, over ninety billion naira worth of oil palm produce is still being imported yearly into the country.

The business-oriented Governor has therefore keyed into the prospects in the oil palm sector as a means to diversifying the State’s economy and making profits from the high demand for palm produce in the country.
Paul Chatfield seemed like a prophet when he said ‘’Agriculture is the noblest of all alchemy; for it turns earth, and even manure into gold, conferring upon its cultivator the additional reward of health’’.

Just months after the allocation of hectares of land under the Edo State Oil Palm Programme (ESOPP), over $531.2 million has been attracted to the oil palm sector in the State.
Speaking during the flag-off of the 2022 farming season in Benin City recently, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Mr. Stephen Idehenre, noted, “So far, we have attracted investments valued at 531.2 million dollars in nine months to the oil palm sector alone via the Edo State Oil Palm Programme (ESOPP).

The programme approach involves the use of Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and Free Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) Guidelines to engage communities in land allocation. A total of 62,500 hectares have been allocated to investors”.

In prioritizing the agriculture sector, the Godwin Obaseki-led administration has brought economic opportunities to large, medium and small scale investors in the oil palm sub-sector with the goal of de-risking investments in agriculture. In addition to the economic turn over for the state, there is an anticipated increase in employment possibilities and wellbeing as part of the ripple effects of giant strides such as this.

In addition to the expected generation of thousands of jobs across the value chain, it is equally expected that the state will add over 1,000,000 metric tons to local production of crude palm oil (CPO) by 2030. This is geared towards the realization of Governor Obaseki’s agenda of Making Edo Great Again (MEGA).

Damn ..... Obaseki is a real nigga
This is commendable and worth reporting.

Truly Edo no be Lagos. Ride on my no nonsense governor!

This is a great one, honestly this is what is feeding Malaysia till tomorrow after taking seedlings from Nigeria years ago..