The Akwa Ibom State government has added 24,000 more 25kg bags of rice to the 24,000 bags donated by the Federal Government.
This brings the total to 48,000 bags, which will support more families in need within the state. Dr. Offiong Offor, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, shared this information during a briefing at the NIJ Secretariat in Uyo on Friday.
The governor’s decision to augment the rice supply is aimed at addressing the high levels of hunger, food scarcity, and poverty in the state. Instead of focusing on assigning blame, the governor, Umo Eno, has called for innovative strategies to help lift people out of poverty and encourage participation in development initiatives.
Dr. Offiong explained that each of the 2,272 gazetted villages in the state will receive 20 bags of rice and that over 100,000 families on the social register have already received or will soon receive free food items from the state government through the Bulk Purchase Agency.
she further said that the distribution of the federal and state governments’ food assistance will take place at Local Government Council Headquarters.
The Council Chairmen will then be responsible for ensuring the safe transportation of the 20 bags of rice to each recognized village, and distribution dates will be announced soon.
The initiative aims to reduce the hardship faced by citizens, addressing extreme hunger and poverty in line with Sustainable Development Goal 1.
The long-term solution to hunger and food insecurity is the Back to Farm Initiative, promoted by the administration, which advocates for local food production.
Additionally, the first and third Fridays of the month have been designated as work-free farming days to encourage farming activities.
The Ministry of Agriculture has also implemented various interventions, such as distributing cassava cuttings, maize grains, pepper seedlings, and coconut seedlings to 135 public primary and secondary schools.
In addition, she stated that 150,000 cocoa seedlings have been distributed to cocoa farmers, along with 40,000 oil palm seedlings to oil palm farmers. Furthermore, 80,000 pepper seedlings have been provided to vegetable farmers, 20 metric tonnes of rice shared with rice farmers across the state, and livestock and poultry supplies to poultry farmers.
The government has also offered livelihood grants of N150,000 to 1,560 beneficiaries and agricultural inputs and services to 900 farmers under the AKCARES Scheme.
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