Over 100 youths have been trained to support the implementation of the Songhai Farms Initiative in Akwa Ibom State. Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr. Offiong Offor, announced this during a media briefing in Uyo. She emphasized that the program executed in phases beginning with the nursery phase, aims to boost food production, which is crucial for reducing the cost of foodstuffs in the state.

Dr. Offor, has said that the state government’s Songhai Farm Model remained on course and would form the basis for the development of modern farms, especially for youths across the 31 local council areas.

This development follows the earlier training of thirty-one youths  for the Songhai agricultural technology program  in Cotonou, Benin Republic in 2023 . This step was taken to replicate the Songhai Farm technology in Akwa Ibom State as part of the agricultural revolution outlined in Governor Umo Eno’s A.R.I.S.E. Agenda blueprint.

The Commissioner for Agriculture Dr. Offor stated that the Songhai Farm initiative, currently in the land preparation phase for gardening, is still very much active. “Significant progress has been made. If you visit the site, you’ll see extensive preparations have been completed, particularly for cultivating vegetables.”

The commissioner also revealed that local government farm plantations are now managed by the respective councils, with many focusing on crops best suited to their regions.

Schools have been provided with improved seedlings to encourage students to engage in farming from a young age. Dr. Offor urged residents to take advantage of opportunities to grow crops and raise animals, even on a small scale.

According to her, the state government is committed to achieving food sufficiency and affordability, as outlined in Governor Umo Eno’s ARISE agenda. She noted efforts to disrupt the monopoly of commodity unions that contribute to rising food prices.

“When the Governor introduced the Bulk Purchase Agency, he met with the traders and told them that they are part of the process and that they need to reduce their union influence, and that one does not necessarily need to belong to the union to sell in the market. This union thing has been with us for a long time, and you can’t just snap your fingers and stop it. But we have dialogued with the traders and resolved that whatever you bring to the market, let everybody have an opportunity to sell.”

She added, “For now, the market union members are agents in the Bulk Purchase program and have reduced their influence in recent times in those commodities covered in the intervention, like garri, beans, and rice. That’s why we encourage people to patronize the produce market where the original farmers bring their produce to sell at a price much lower than what you get at the conventional market.”

These strategic measures, combined with increased youth participation in agriculture through initiatives like the Songhai Farms, would  ensure food sufficiency and stabilize food prices in Akwa Ibom State, thereby extending to other parts of the Niger Delta.