The Enugu State Commissioner for Agriculture and Agro-Industrialization, Mr. Patrick Ubru, says the state government is set to launch its 260 Smart Farm Estates meant to revolutionize agriculture and get residents back to farming.
Ubru said this on Monday while leading a team of inspectors on behalf of Gov. Peter Mbah to the site of the Gov. Peter Mbah Smart Farm Estate pilot project at Akpawfu in Nkanu East Local Government Area of Enugu State.
It would be recalled that the state government had earmarked N2 billion in the 2025 budget for the Smart Farm Estates initiative across its 260 political wards in the 17 council areas within the state.
The initiative is under Gov. Mbah’s grassroots agriculture revolution tagged: “One Ward, One Smart Farm Estate.”
Ubru said that there was a need for step-down town hall meetings for farmers in council areas to take advantage of the initiative, adding: “Time should not be wasted in organizing the town hall meeting with the targeted farmers.”
He called on individuals, cooperative societies, communities, corporate organizations, and other agencies in the state involved in agriculture and agro-industrialization, such as IFAD-VCDP and FADAMA, to key into the initiative for collaboration in the interest of the people.
According to him, the ‘One Ward, One Smart Farm Estate’ Initiative will be a game-changer for the people, as the agriculture-loving governor is putting everything in place to ensure they get its maximum benefits.
The commissioner said:
“It will be done on hectares of land, where all types of farming activities, such as crop farming and exotic/economic plants like cocoa, cassava, sorghum, vegetables, exotic pepper, and spices, among others, will be practiced.
“The state government will actively collaborate with local government councils to ensure that the initiative works efficiently and will engage the people, especially youths, in each locality to participate, as it holds many benefits.
“The One Ward, One Smart Farm Estate initiative will solve several issues, particularly
