*Edo Govt, Elephant Group, H2A Foods partner on 1,155ha cassava farm*

…as CBN commits N214m credit line for project

The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has disclosed plans to partner Heritage Agro-Allied (H2A) Foods and Elephant Group Plc, to cultivate a $6 million 1,155-hectare cassava farm and set up a food processing facility in the state, to boost agricultural development.

Obaseki disclosed this when senior executive officers of the group paid a courtesy visit at the Government House in Benin City, the Edo State capital.

He said, “The partnership with the H2A Foods and Elephant Group Plc will enable the state government achieve its promise to create 200,000 jobs within four years especially through agricultural development.”

Obaseki explained that the cassava project is a model for job creation for the teeming unemployed youths in the state, adding, “The state government will provide the required infrastructure for the partnership. We will support the cassava project through the construction of roads to link the farms for easy evacuation of cassava produce.”

He added, "We will also facilitate provision of electricity for the cassava processing plant through the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC)."

Chief Executive Officer, H2A Foods, Dr. Tony Bello, who spoke on behalf of the group, said, “About 420 cassava farmers drawn from the three senatorial districts in the state would be engaged in the pilot scheme of the project. We have set a target to produce 20-tons of cassava per hectare.”

Bello added, “The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) through the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) and the Anchor Borrowers Programme, is ready to invest about N214 million in the project.”

“On our part, we are investing about $6 million in cassava transformation for staple foods in Edo State. This will enable us process cassava into value-added nutritious foods. The products will target local and foreign markets. In the first phase, we will begin with 850 hectares out of the 1,155 hectares. We expect that the state government will engage at least 100 agriprenuers in Edo state to actualise the project,” he said.


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PHOTO CAPTION

R-L: Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki; Chief Executive Officer, Heritage Agro-Allied (H2A) Foods, Dr. Tony Bello; Project Manager, H2A Foods, Engr. Don Onyegbu; and Head, Project Monitoring and Remediation Office (PMRO), Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), Adeniyi Oguntuyi, during the firm’s courtesy visit to the governor, at the Government House, Benin City.

Edo is truly on the rise through Governor Obaseki

The best way to work is to work well, Governor Obaseki you are working well and we people of Edo State will not take it as a joke, we will try to prove our wisdom to corporate with the Government, thank you sir.

The time has come for us to rejoice, our prayers have been answered, thank God for God sent Governor Obaseki,for the fact that some people are ignorant to see, understand, imaging wisely and their impatience should not cause general confusion to them,Governor Obaseki is not a man that will or can ever be confused,it is for all of us to join head with him and thank God that he is a man we can do every good thing of life with and move forward.Thank you sir.

Governor Obaseki BABA.., we did not know how and when it went so bad the way it was before you pick up the state and you are making us to see how great you want to make Edo State and even much more than we had thought of before,and now it looks like we are moving to the level of the great States in great countrie today as we can see now,Governor Obaseki Let them say anything them like ,their bad mouths are full of nonsense without truth and may God save them from going to jail.

Rejoice with us o people of Babylon, this is our time and let us all repent an work in the right way with this Government and this Government is doing great things for us to enjoy.Thank you Governor Obaseki.

Come and find out things that Governor Obaseki has done, you will understand, and let us not be ignorant, please it is our Edo State.

We thank God we have you Governor Obaseki you remember that you are always God's own son and lives in you and God presence will never live you.Thank you Almighty.

we people of Edo state thank you, For the wonderful work God did in your life Governor Obaseki.our question is been answered every day as God uses you, Governor Obaseki and for these reasons we pray that you wake up from you bed every morning because you are representing God as the father of the fatherless, widows and we now have the boldness to thank God for real, and if anyone wants to work with good governance, should check out what is Going on now.our prayers are been answered daily, The enemies will be killed for nothing by the fire of God.

Suniyamu:
Edo is truly on the rise through Governor Obaseki

The governor is very focused and highly visionary. He is repositioning Edo state to become a pacesetter state, a pride of the nation and regain her past glory.

Better days are here again for the Edos. What a laudable PPP initiative. Another plus for Nigeria which currently prides herself as second on the list of cassava producing nations globally.