With the recent clamour and drive to make agriculture the mainstay of the Nigerian economy, Premier Plantations Limited, a subsidiary of Nosak Group is investing in the cassava value chain in Ekiti State to support the Agribusiness and Youth Empowerment drive of the administration of Kayode Fayemi, the executive governor of Ekiti State.
At a youth engagement programme with the theme, ‘Ekiti Youth, Let’s Talk’ powered by the State Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security in conjunction with the State Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, the project manager, Premier Plantations Limited, Boniface Iyen lauded the governor’s agribusiness initiatives which have attracted private investors to spotlight Ekiti State as a centre for agro-allied operations.
“Premier Plantations Limited is focused on the establishment of a 6,000ha cassava plantation to support Nosak Group’s 150,000 litres per day cassava to ethanol processing factory at Ipao-Ekiti which will require about 1,200 tonnes of cassava per day for processing. With this volume, we will set up an out-grower scheme in collaboration with the Nigeria Cassava Growers Association (NCGA) aggregate for smallholder cassava farmers to provide feedstock for the operations of the refinery”, he explained.
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Iyen disclosed that the plantation has the potential to create more than 1,000 direct and indirect jobs for the people of Ekiti State. “Nosak Group will explore other opportunities in the cassava value chain to impact on the youth in Ekiti State.”
With the out-grower scheme, more hands are needed to key into the opportunities in the plantation and the refinery.
He, therefore, called on the youth to embrace farming and tap into the rising opportunities in agribusiness and the enabling environment provided by the state government.
