No Govt Rice Farm In Ini - AK Farmers
Rice farmers in Ini Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State have refuted claims by the state government that rice are grown, processed and packaged at the "rice mill" recently commissioned by Governor Udom Emmanuel.
According to them, the 'rice processing mill' commissioned by Governor Udom Emmanuel is fed by rice from Kogi and Adamawa States.
They also debunked state government's ownership claims on rice farms in the area.
Our correspondent who went on a fact finding mission, recently, also gathered that locally produced local rice is processed at a mill run independently by the farmers at Mbiabet Ikot Udo community.
Speaking at the mill at Mbiabet, the Youth President of Mbiabet Ikot Udo, Mr. Uwakima Effiong Okon, said rice farmers in the locality are not under the employ of the state government, and emphasized that the state government has no rice farm in Ini LGA.
"We are not employed by the state government; we cultivate and process our rice here and sell it in the local markets. Akwa Ibom state government has no rice farms in the whole of Ini."
Okon noted that the mill and abandoned silos were established in 1975 by the federal government, and divulged that the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) renovated the mill in 2006, that it has since been put to use by the locals.
He called on the state government to come to their aid by providing grants, loans and other incentives to boost their output.
A rice farmer, Mrs. Glory Effiong Umoh, frowned at claims that the state government owns rice farms in the area.
"My grandfather introduced rice farming in this community. They (state government) should stop deceiving the people. We independently grow and process our rice without any support from the state government", she stated.
Another rice farmer, Mr. Nsikak Sunday, described government claims as lie.
"It's a lie, they have not done anything for us. We heard that they bring rice from Kogi State to their mill; they don't make use of our rice. This farm you see is owned by the community. They (state government) have been coming here severally with fake promises."
A couple of other rice farmers, Abraham Umoh and Nathaniel Okon also described state government's claims as fallacious.
Our correspondent was shown a large expanse of abandoned land hitherto donated by the Mbiabet group of villages to the state government for the cultivation of rice. Our source say, Mbiabet people have not been given any reason for the abandonment.
The land is few metres from the palatial mansion of the Akwa Ibom State Women Affairs Commissioner, Mrs. Gloria Edet, at Ikpe Ikot Nkon.
The area is bereft of tarred road, electricity, and health centres.
©The Sensor Newspaper
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