Representatives of the Blue Ribbon Limited, led by Sir Idris Wabara, Friday, paid a visit to Governor Alex Otti in Abia State to discuss a transformative agro investment initiative aimed at enhancing the state’s agricultural sector.
Wabara said that the proposed project, in collaboration with AfiMilk, an Israeli outfit renowned for its expertise in agriculture, focuses on establishing a state-of-the-art dairy farm.
He highlighted the urgent need for Nigeria to shift from consumption to production, stressing the pivotal role of agriculture in achieving economic sustainability.
Wabara emphasized the significance of the project in strengthening the economic landscape of Abia State and its potential impact on the lives of its citizens noting that the project presents an opportunity to enhance the state’s agricultural productivity and reduce reliance on imported dairy products.
He also added that the proposed dairy farm initiative offers potential benefits to the state in areas such as increased revenue generation, job creation, and heightened economic activity and underscored the importance of leveraging Abia State’s agricultural potential to ensure food security, and generate foreign exchange earnings.
“You know the state of the Nigerian economy now, it’s either we produce or we perish. A political leader we all admire so much said Nigeria needs to move from consumption to production and our core competences I believe rests in agriculture.
“We know what his Excellency the Governor has been doing in Abia , we are looking to partner with an Israeli outfit that is quite experienced in this sector and we know that with them, Abia state will get the best.
“Whatwe want to do is to feed the local market with milk, we want to conserve foreign currency and train or people. Israeli’s are keen on training our people in local expertise so we intend to train people here and send some of them to Israel for training and I think it’s a win win situation for the country.
“Government will have increased revenue, you’ll have people employed, we are not just setting up, were attracting bigger milk processors and increased economic s activity. We’ll train Abians, we’ll train people through the expertise in Diary so this is essentially diary, produce milk and associated products for the consumption of the local market and possibly for export“, he said.
Wabara expressed confidence in the Israeli partners’ commitment to transferring knowledge and skills to local workers, thereby contributing to capacity building and technological advancement in the agricultural sector.
He clarified that contrary to misconceptions, the initiative is not related to RUGA or cattle rearing but aims to produce high-quality milk to meet local demand.
“We are asking the government to support the project to leverage and essentially, make land available for the project and i must emphasize that this is not RUGA. This is not cattle rearing and it’s not National livestock whatever, this is a diary farm, we bring in world class cattle, we produce world class milk”, he said
Wabara emphasized the imperative of securing nutritional security for Abia’s populace and advocated for the production of fresh milk over imported powdered alternatives.
He added that states such as Kaduna, Ekiti, and Oyo has successful implemented the dairy farming ventures and highlighted the need for Abia State to seize similar opportunities for the growth and development of the Agricultural sector.
Wabara commended Governor Otti’s proactive approach to economic revitalization and appealed for the government’s support in providing land so as to facilitate the project’s implementation.
Responding, Governor Alex Otti said he has welcomed in principle the proposal and assured the company that his government will get into the details of the proposal.
He said the establishment of a diary farm in the state makes sense as it will enhance economic development,adding that the idea of having people move around with cows has been outlawed in some countries such as Brazil.
The Commissioner for Information and Culture, Prince Okey Kanu alongside other government officials were present during the meeting
