Gov. Alex Otti of Abia has warned that his government will not support any farmer who fails to be captured and registered in the state’s farmers’ database.
Otti gave the warning on Friday while inaugurating the Abia Farmers Input Support Programme at the Umuahia Township Stadium.
The governor said the project was aimed at encouraging large-scale food production and commercial farming to ensure food security in the state.
He noted that while subsistence farming was still useful, it would not take the state far.
He said the state was providing the inputs as well as transportation to ensure farmers do not incur unnecessary expenses.
The State Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr Cliff Agbaeze, said government support to farmers in the 17 local government areas was aimed at boosting food production in the 2026 farming season.
He said a total of 18,000 farmers from 184 wards across the state would be supported.
He added that 3,312 farmers would benefit from the input distribution at the event, while the remaining farmers would receive their inputs at their local government headquarters at a later date.
Agbaeze listed the items distributed to include rice and tomato seedlings, cassava stems, pepper seedlings, maize, plantain suckers, potato vines, bags of NPK fertiliser, organic fertiliser, herbicides and pesticides.
The Keynote Speaker, Prof. Chiedozie Egesi, Executive Director of the National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI), Umudike, lauded the government’s initiative to support farmers with inputs.
He said the programme was a clear declaration that agriculture had taken centre stage in Abia, noting that the state government was building a secure future for its people.
“When leadership is purposeful, development follows; when the government provides an enabling environment, businesses grow; and when farmers are empowered, the economy prospers,” he said.
Egesi said Abia had been and could once again become the agricultural capital of Nigeria, being a major hub for oil palm, cassava and other crops.
He described root and tuber crops as the backbone of agriculture in the state, serving as an important source of employment, industrial raw materials and economic value.
He said the NRCRI was ready to partner with the state to ensure the proper development of agriculture.
The Executive Director lauded the state government for establishing a database for the registration of genuine farmers, saying it would make planning easier and help authentic farmers receive deserved assistance.
Egesi urged Abia farmers to continue updating their data to access more support in the future, noting that the future of agriculture in the state was bright.
Also speaking, the Vice-Chancellor of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture (MOUAU), Prof. Ursula Akanwa, thanked the government for the initiative.
“Agriculture is the bedrock of the Nigerian economy and remains the most reliable means of ensuring food sufficiency and reducing poverty.
“Therefore, a programme like this not only supports commerce but strengthens the entire agricultural value chain.
“It also creates employment opportunities and contributes significantly to the socio-economic advancement of our communities,” she said.
Akanwa added that such policy initiatives translate into tangible benefits. She urged farmers to make judicious use of the inputs so the programme could yield the desired results.
One of the beneficiaries, Mr Ihemegbulem Chidiebere from Umunnekwu in Isiukwuato LGA, told reporters that the programme demonstrated the governor’s vision for developing agriculture in Abia.
He thanked the governor for the gesture, saying Abia farmers had not experienced such support at this scale before.
Chidiebere suggested that the programme be held between February and March every year so that inputs could be applied at the beginning of the farming season rather than towards the end.
