A frontline aspirant for the Imo State governorship seat on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Nick Opara-Ndudu, has stressed the need for a good agricultural policy to change life in Imo State for the better.
He described agriculture as a springboard for economic revival capable of changing life in the state.
Speaking to his supporters in Imo State, Opara-Ndudu said if given the opportunity to rule the state, his government would be very active in the agricultural sector because of its numerous potentials.
According to him, his policy in that area, would be tagged “Agricultural Revolution.”
He said it would include the opening up of the rural areas for vibrant economic activities that would improve the quality of lives of Imo people.
He said it would also bring about sustainable growth in the state economy.
“The overall aim will be to empower the people economically while engendering socio-economic development of the state,” he said.
Opara-Ndudu, who is an astute banker said he believed that if the rural areas were opened up through the provision of adequate road networks, the people in the countryside would be connected to the cities and allow for easy evacuation of agricultural produce just as farmers would be encouraged to increase production.
He pointed out that the provision of power, pipe-borne water, hospitals and recreational facilities in the rural areas would stem the menace of rural urban migration as youths would be encouraged to live in the villages and take agriculture as a profession.
Nick Opara-Ndudu said he would revive all the moribund agricultural establishments in the state such as Avutu Poultry Farm in Obowu, Adapalm Plantation in Ohaji, and establish new ones.
He added that instead of what obtained in the past, when the state government alone was involved, the arrangement would be Public Private Partnership (PPP).
“Companies, both local and foreign, willing to invest in agriculture in the state, would be encouraged to do so,” he said.
