Abia hands over palm plantation to private investor

 In a bid to reposition Abia Palm for economic gains, the state government says it has officially handed the firm to Shanid Abia Palm Limited, an arrangement it says has created more than 500 jobs.

It is also expected that the arrangement would create more jobs through the new public private partnership (PPP) driven arrangement in the state.

Meanwhile, the Abia Liberation Farms structure has been approved and funded in response to global agro-economic development that calls for the commercialisation of small holder agro investments.

The Abia Liberation Farms was established to create employment for the people, with a target to create employment for over 5,000 youths by the end 2015 and increase production capacity of local farmers.

It is also aimed to industrialise the state through provision of adequate supply of agro-raw materials and the installation of processing equipment to stimulate competitive pricing for agricultural products and generation of revenue for the state. Abia Liberation Farms is currently involved in cassava, plantain, rice, fish and broiler/egg productions.

A four-hectare land has been acquired for plantain plantation in Ukwa East, while another four hectares acquired for same venture in Lodu area of Umuahia North, has been cleared.

It is the intention of the Liberation Farms management to establish plantain plantations in the 17 local government areas of the state.

BusinessDay findings revealed that pigs and birds from the livestock pilot plot at Lodu would be supplied to farmers in the state in line with the PPP arrangement.