Edo allocates over 40,000 hectares to 6 firms for oil palm plantation

Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki, has approved the allocation of over 40,000 hectares of land to six firms for oil palm cultivation.

Obaseki, who disclosed this to journalists in Benin City, said the step was in furtherance of the government’s vision to make agriculture the mainstay of the state’s economy.

The governor said the gesture is part of the Edo State Oil Palm Programme, which is being implemented in partnership with the Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN) to harness the state’s rich oil palm heritage, diversify the local economy, create jobs and increase productivity in a sustainable manner.

“I am pleased to inform you that the Edo Oil Palm Initiative in which we partnered with the Central Bank of Nigeria has taken off with the allocation of over 40,000 hectares of land for cultivation to 6 firms,” he noted.

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Parading some of his administration’s landmarks in the agriculture sector, the governor said: “We recorded an improvement in the agricultural sector with the incursion of new investors to the state, in furtherance of our vision to make agriculture the mainstay of our economy.

“With the very transparent land management system emplaced with the operations of the Edo State Geographic Information Service ( EDOGIS), a lot more investors are taking advantage of our rich and fertile land to do business, growing investment in commercial farming.

“In partnership with the Nigeria Incentive-based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL Plc), we leveraged the CBN Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme ( CACS) and to expand cultivation of cash crops across the state.”