The South East Development Commission (SEDC) has commenced its South East Agro-Development Programme with the flag-off of a 200-hectare integrated model farm at Nomeh Unataeze in Nkanu East Local Government Area of Enugu State.
The pilot project, implemented in partnership with the Enugu State Government, is designed to boost food production, create jobs, develop agricultural skills, improve livelihoods and provide a model for modern agriculture across the South East.
Minister of Regional Development, Abubakar Momoh, said the project reflected the Federal Government’s commitment to productive, inclusive and regionally balanced development.
“Today is significant because it represents something bigger than the commencement of an agricultural project. It represents the kind of development the Federal Government is seeking to promote across Nigeria: development that is productive, inclusive, regionally balanced and capable of creating opportunities for our people,” Momoh said.
He said food security required a complete agricultural ecosystem rather than simply expanding cultivated land.
“The objective is not simply to produce more food. We must build an agricultural system that is productive, resilient and capable of creating value across the entire chain. We must produce. We must process. We must create markets. We must reduce post-harvest losses. We must improve productivity and incomes. And we must create opportunities for young Nigerians to participate meaningfully in modern agriculture,” he said.
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The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of SEDC, Mark Okoye, said the project was designed to demonstrate how land, technology, mechanisation, production, processing, training and markets could be integrated into one agricultural system.
“The South East Agro-Development Programme is about building productive capacity in the region. We want to demonstrate what agriculture can look like when land, technology, mechanisation, production, processing, training and markets are brought together in one system,” Okoye said.
He said the project’s impact would extend beyond the 200-hectare site through its training and out-grower programmes.
Okoye said the training centre would provide practical instruction in dairy husbandry, fodder and silage production, poultry, fisheries and farm mechanisation, with capacity for between 100 and 120 trainees at a time.
He added that the out-grower component would initially involve about 300 households within a 10-kilometre radius of the farm, with participating farmers gaining access to inputs, technical assistance and mechanisation services.
“At maturity, the farm is projected to support approximately 1,000 direct jobs, with additional employment and livelihood opportunities generated through seasonal agricultural activities and the wider out-grower network,” he said.
Okoye said the project was also part of efforts to strengthen food security under the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda, particularly through increased food production, mechanisation, processing and stronger agricultural value chains.
He said the Nomeh project would serve as a pilot for similar agricultural and agro-mechanisation interventions across the five states of the South East.
“Nomeh is the starting point. This is a pilot. We want to learn from what we build here, document what works, improve what does not, and replicate the model across the South East in line with our mandate,” Okoye explained.
The Deputy Governor of Enugu State described the project as an example of what strategic collaboration between the state government and SEDC could achieve, particularly amid efforts to increase food production and diversify the economy.
Chairman of SEDC, Dr Emeka Wogu, said the project represented an important step towards translating the Commission’s regional development mandate into practical interventions.
“Regional development requires partnership. The Commission cannot and should not work in isolation from the state governments, communities, the private sector and development partners. Our responsibility is to create platforms that connect these stakeholders around opportunities that can generate sustainable economic value for the people of the South East,” he said.
President General of Nomeh Unataeze, Dr Chukwudi Anyianuka, said the community was ready to support the project.
According to a statement by the Executive Director, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Cliff Ogbede, the project would combine fodder production, dairy, poultry, fisheries, greenhouse production, processing, mechanisation, renewable energy and practical agricultural training.
The statement said the integrated facility would include a 200-head dairy herd, poultry production of up to 20,000 birds per cycle, fisheries infrastructure, fodder cultivation and silage production, as well as processing and demonstration facilities.
It said the project was designed to demonstrate how different components of the agricultural value chain could work together to improve productivity, create jobs, develop skills and strengthen food security in the South East.
The Commission said the Nomeh community would be treated as a key stakeholder in the project rather than merely as its host.
