April 16, (THEWILL) – The chairman of the Bulk Purchase Scheme for various food items of the present administration in Akwa Ibom State, Rt Hon. Dan Akpan, has urged members of the public to keep faith with the initiative assuring that it would come out successful.
Akpan gave the statement yesterday, during an interminiterial briefing put together by the Ministry of Information to assess the ARISE Scorecard and Governor Umo Eno’s intervention and sustainability strategy towards food sufficiency and security within the last eleven months.
He said the objective of the Scheme is to mitigate the high cost of foodstuff in the State; ensure food security and sufficiency and improve the socioeconomic condition of people at the grassroots by delivery of relevant food items at a subsidised rate geared towards poverty reduction.
According to him, the Scheme would be sustained for a while upon commencement, to help vulnerable members of the public find their feet physiologically.
Akpan, who refuted claims that the food items given at the flag-off of the Scheme were sandy and substandard, stressed that they were of good quality and that any vendor supplying substandard food items will be evicted from the scheme.
On how the items would be monitored for effective distribution, he informed that three monitoring teams have been set up by the Agency, one for each of the three Senatorial Districts to ensure that the food items get to those intended.
Also, the commissioner of Agriculture, Dr Offiong Offor disclosed that Pastor Umo Eno’s administration is planning to spur the interest of young people in agriculture by providing them financial access and land for start-ups.
According to her, the Governor is leaving no stone unturned in his bid to make agriculture the mainstay of the economy and thus, eradicate poverty and hunger from the land, in line with Goals 1 and 2 of the United Nations proposition on Sustainable Development.
Dr Offor, who recounted the various interventions of the State Governor to livestock and crop farmers since the inception of his administration was hopeful that subsequent harvests would be bountiful and food items, less expensive for the Akwa Ibom populace.
“The government had asked Local Government Chairpersons to gift lands to the government for farming, to increase production and 7 of them have done that so far. The lands will be given back to the people to cultivate, with the farm inputs provided by the government. With this, we can be sure of food availability and sufficiency”, she said, adding that there’ll be designated sales points for the purchase of the food items cultivated by assisted farmers when it is time”, She explained.
Dr Offiong while responding to questions on the Government’s action towards the destruction of farmlands by cattle and herders frowned at the development and announced that such defaulters will be prosecuted.
Her position was corroborated by the Commissioner for Information and host of the discuss, Comrade Ini Ememobong, who informed that the State Government had held consultations with the Arewa Community in the State and was consolidating on an agreement reached to take legal action on defaulters of the Law on Open Grazing.
Earlier, the Commissioner for Information, Comrade Ini Ememobong, said the platform was created to put members of the State in the know of the extent and why Governor Eno was intervening in food sufficiency and security.
The discussion also had the Commissioner for Economic Development, Mr Emem Bob Almond, speak on key issues regarding the economic development of the State.
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