Jonathan Eze
The Edo State Government has said it will unveil its economic blueprint fashioned after the Economic Growth and Recovery Plan (EGRP) of the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led federal government, launched by President Muhammadu Buhari, on April 5, 2017.
In a statement sent to THISDAY on Monday and signed by the Special Adviser to Governor Godwin Obaseki on Media and Communication Strategy, Mr. Crusoe Osagie, it stated that the Obaseki-led government would at the Alaghodaro Investment Summit which is scheduled from November 10 to 12, 2017, would showcase its ambitious agricultural programmes that gave birth to the Edo Fertiliser and Chemical Company, which was inaugurated by the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo in Auchi, to boost the local production of fertilizer in the state.
The Edo Fertilizer Plant and Chemical Company Limited, is a public-private venture which has the capacity to produce about 60,000 metric tonnes of fertilizer per annum.
Also to be paraded at the Investment Summit which will be attended by captains of industry, is the Edo State Saro Farm in Sobe, Owan West Local Government Area of the state, where harvest is currently ongoing.
The Public-Private Partnership initiative with Saro Agro Sciences Ltd., a leading company in agribusiness, was conceived by Governor Godwin Obaseki to create jobs for thousands of youths across the state.
According to Obaseki, the maize farm is part of his administration’s accelerated agriculture initiative to boost job creation in the state, as between 50,000 to 80,000 agricultural jobs would be created before the end of the year in the state.
The first phase of the initiative targets job creation for 1,000 farmers through the cultivation of 5,000 hectares of maize farms across five local government areas of the state.
In the same vein, the statement added that the Edo Industrial Park which has received positive reviews by development analysts will top discourses at panel and technical sessions during the three-day Alaghodaro Investment Summit in Benin City, the Edo State capital.
“On completion, the industrial park will be linked to the Azura-Edo Independent Power Plant (IPP) under construction, situated close to Nigeria’s main trunkline, the Escravos Lagos Pipeline System (ELPS) which is only 1km from the Azura-Edo project site.
‘On job creation, the 200,000 job target of Edo State will be reviewed at the summit side by side with the sectors that can produce the highest number of jobs, as encapsulated in the Economic Growth and Recovery Plan.
