Obiano’s Agro-Revolution gets Underway as Ekcel Farms Begins $100m Operation

Five  days  to  the  first  anniversary  of  Chief  Willie  Obiano  as  the  governor  of Anambra State, Ekcel Farms Ltd, a subsidiary of Oil serve Limited, has flagged of operations in its  $100 million tomato farms project  in Omasi,  Ayamelum Local Government Area of the state.

Flagging  of  the  N16  billion  ($100m)  farm  which  will  exclusively  focus  on  the cultivation and processing of tomato and cassava, Wednesday, Governor Obiano announced  that  finally,  the  fire  of  his  administration’s  agrarian  revolution  has started to spread. According to him, since the arrival of Coched Farms Limited in Anaku in May last year, Anambra State had flung its doors wide open to agro-investors who have since discovered what the state has to ofer to the investment community.

Said he: “Today, we are on a different turf. Ekcel Farms is investing in Cassava andtomato. It will produce over 150,000 tons of tomato puree. This investment is ablessing to the Omasi people in particular and to Ndi Anambra as a whole. It willattract 13,500 direct jobs and over 100,000 indirect jobs.”The governor further explained that the company would allocate 5% of its annualprofit to the host Community, 10% to the state government and another 5% to theprovision  of  amenities.  “Is  this  not  a  blessing  to  Omasi  people?

Is  this  not  a blessing  to  Anambra  State?”  he  asked  and  exhorted  the  Omasi  people  toendeavor to play the good host and provide a congenial  atmosphere for EkcelFarms to thrive and fulfill its mission as a going concern. “I  want you to imitate the Anaku people who have been a wonderful host  toCoched Farms. Since Coched farms began operations there in May last year, there has not been a single incident between it and the host community.

That is the way I want you to relate with Ekcel Farms,” he further enthused. Governor Obiano also advised the Omasi people to adopt a very friendly attitude to the farm and treat it as though it belonged to the community. “I Want you to take ownership of this company. Treat it as your own. Lend them a timely hand.They have come to develop and build Omasi and you must help them to do it,” headvised.Earlier in his remarks, the Chairman of Ekcel Farms Ltd, Engr. Emeka Okwuosa had explained  that  Ekcel  Farms  Ltd  became  interested  in  Anambra  State  when  itrealized that the governor’s Economic Blueprint was not a political gimmick but atrue blueprint for the development of Anambra State.

“It became very obvious from the way he went about tackling the challenge of insecurity in the state. If Anambra were not secure, Ekcel Farms would not be here today. Most investors like me will not invest in any place where we do not feel secure,” Engr Okwuosa observed pointing out that the governor had yet to spend a full year in office but he had recorded a tremendous achievement.Speaking further, Engr Okwuosa said, “We are not just here to farm but to set up an industrial and mechanized agriculture.

The whole aim is to cultivate, process and market cassava and tomato products. It is obvious that agriculture needs to be developed to become the bedrock of the economy.”According to him, from the experience his company had gathered from operating in other parts of the country, it had developed a community engagement model that would help to strengthen its ties with the host community. “We shall help the community to form cooperatives and encourage local farmers to cultivate cassava which  we  shall  take  from  them  for  processing.

This  will  help  the  community generate instant revenue. Engr Okwuosa further revealed that when fully operational, the farm would be producing 21,000 tons of cassava per annum while it would produce 150,000 tons of raw tomato and 51,000 tons of tomato paste.“We expect that in the next six months we shall be fully on ground here. We also expect that our plant will be fully operational between 12 to 18 months. The plant will be built overseas and shipped to Omasi for installation.

But we will commence cultivation prior to that.  We are not in this business for the short term. This is a business that will last for decades. I must thank the governor, Chief Willie Obiano whose vision and drive made it  possible for us to come here today,” Engineer Okwuosa revealed.  Earlier  in  his  opening  remarks,  the  Chairman  of  Anambra  State  Investment Promotion and Protection Agency  (ANSIPPA)  Igwe Cyril  Enweze  had expressed optimism that the arrival of Ekcel Farms would attract more investors to Anambra State. He  applauded  Governor  Obiano  for  turning  Anambra  into  the  safest  state  in Nigeria and offering a strategic blueprint that offers a clear delineation of priority areas in the Four Pillars and 13 Enablers. Igwe Enweze also lauded Governor Obiano for  leading Anambra to the top of accountability and transparency in governance in Nigeria.