Abia State Government said it has introduced policy that would revolutionize agriculture and tackle food insecurity in the state
Governor Alex Otti stated this in Umuahia during the launch of the Abia State Agriculture Dynamic Database System (Abia ADDS) – a transformative digital platform designed to enhance agricultural data collection, farmer identification, planning, and targeted interventions across all Local Government Areas.
Represented by the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Caleb Ajagba, Otti said before now, farmers in the state have apart from engaging in subsistence farming and making do with guess work, adding that with the digital platform, will be involved in modern farming with measured certainty.
The Governor noted with satisfaction that the new measure will not only help support extension services and crops specific guidance, it will also enforce transparency and help plan emergency responses.
“It will make farmers in the state to be known, counted and be supported. It will above all, bring investors into agric business and create jobs”, he said.
Otti stated that the problem with agriculture in the state does not lie with lack of interest from the people, but the you problem had been lack of data, extension services and finance which he said Abia ADDS has come to address.
The Governor urged farmers in the state to register with ADDS, assuring Government will give the programme full financial support to ensure its success.
The Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr. Cliff Agbaeze said Abia ADDS represents a major step towards building a modern, data-driven, and technology-enabled agricultural sector that will support increased productivity, food security, and economic growth across the State.
Dr. Agbaeze said the launch was not just the unveiling of a technological platform, but a moment when Government has boldly chosen data over guesswork, innovation over stagnation, and transformation over tradition.
“We launch the Abia State Agriculture Dynamic Database System, “Abia ADDS” and with it, we usher in an era where our decisions will be guided by truth, accuracy and intelligence, not assumptions.
The Commissioner regretted that for decades, Abia farmers have worked tirelessly, yet they have been largely invisible in the system, unknown, uncounted, unaccounted for and unrecognized.
“But how do you support those you cannot see? How do you plan for communities you cannot identify? How do you solve problems you have not measured? If Abia State must rise to feed itself and contribute meaningfully to national and global markets, then we must start with understanding our farmers, our lands, our opportunities, our strengths and our constraints”, he said.
Agbaeze inform that project is anchored on the vision of Dr Otti to fully establish a sustainable, competitive and resilient agriculture sector that will boost food production, create job opportunities and contribute to Abia’s economic growth.
“The Abia ADDS platform is more than a database. It is a powerful engine of transformation. With it we can now know every real farmer in Abia State; plan targeted, efficient, and equitable interventions, distribute inputs fairly and transparently; conduct soil testings through remote-sensing technology, Know the soil composition of each farmland and determine the right fertilizer blend for it.”
Nwachinemerem Emeka, founder of Kitovu Technology, the company partnering Ministry of Agriculture on the project said agriculture is as old as man which now is facing so many problems that require new ideas to solve them.
He disclosed that with Abia ADDS, the problems of farmers in the state have been solved.
