The Akwa Ibom State Government has augmented the 24,000 bags of rice donated by the Federal Government to the state with another 24,000 bags of 25kg to reach more families with much-needed support in the state.
The state Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Offiong Offor, disclosed this while briefing journalists in Uyo on Friday.
The statement partly read, “We are currently facing a significant developmental challenge – hunger caused by food insufficiency, unavailability, and inflation. This issue, a direct result of macroeconomic factors, poses a challenge to both federal and state governments.
“This intervention aims to mitigate the hardship currently faced by our citizens, reducing extreme hunger and poverty in line with Sustainable Development Goal 1. A hungry populace can lead to unrest, making food availability, affordability, and security a priority for this administration.
“The Ministry of Agriculture has implemented several strategic interventions, including distributing cassava cuttings, maize grains, pepper seedlings, and coconut seedlings to 135 public primary and secondary schools.
“Additionally, we have distributed 150,000 cocoa seedlings to cocoa farmers, 40,000 oil palm seedlings to oil palm farmers, 80,000 pepper seedlings to vegetable farmers, 20 metric tonnes of rice shared to rice farmers across the state, and livestock and poultry supplies to poultry farmers.”
The statement added, “Furthermore, we have provided livelihood grants of N150,000 to 1,560 beneficiaries and agricultural inputs and services to 900 farmers under the AKCARES scheme.”