Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, has expressed optimism that
\nthe State’s $12 million\u00a0 Cassava processing initiative will create jobs
\nand enhance the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country.<\/p>\n
The Governor urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Federal
\nMinistry of Agriculture to support the initiative to boost food
\nsecurity,\u00a0 create jobs and earn foreign exchange for the country.<\/p>\n
Governor Wike said this during a meeting with the board of the Rivers
\nCassava Processing Company Limited at the Government House, Port
\nHarcourt on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
He explained that the State government ought to enjoy the support of the
\nCBN in its endeavour to boost food production and reduce importation of
\ncassava products, particularly, processed starch into the country.
\nAccording to him, if the Rivers Cassava Processing Company is
\nencouraged, the country’s dependence on imported cassava products will
\ndrastically reduce.<\/p>\n
The governor regretted that the CBN has failed to accede to Rivers State
\ngovernment’s request for N5 billion to boost the agriculture sector in
\nthe State. He noted that if part of the N5 billion is invested in the
\nRivers Cassava processing initiative, it will create jobs and reduce the
\nunemployment rate.<\/p>\n
He suggested that the State government’s 70 percent equity in the
\ncompany should be divested to encourage private sector participation and
\nminimise government interference in the affairs of the company.<\/p>\n
The Rivers State Commissioner of Agriculture, Dr Fred Kpakor explained
\nthat the multi-million Dollar cassava processing plant located at Afam,
\nin Oyigbo Local Government Area,\u00a0 has the capacity to process 45,000
\nmetric tons of cassava tuber to produce 12,500 metric tons of
\nhigh-quality cassava flour.<\/p>\n
Kpakor added that the plant will create over 3000 jobs, and that in the
\nmedium term, the company will add starch to its products as well as
\nglucose in the future.<\/p>\n
The managing director of the company, Reuben Giesen,\u00a0 said the facility
\nwill run on environment-friendly power from the Rivers State Independent
\nPower Plant in Afam, thus, setting the pace for industrialisation of the
\narea.<\/p>\n
Giesen said the State government and its partners, the Netherlands
\nEmbassy in Nigeria and Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), have
\nkeyed into the cassava production polity of the Federal Government.<\/p>\n
The External Relations Manager of SPDC, Mr. Igo Wali, explained that
\nShell has already invested $3.6 Million into the project as a mark of
\nits commitment to boost food security and enhance job creation in the
\nState.<\/p>\n
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, has expressed optimism that the State’s $12 million\u00a0 Cassava processing initiative will create jobs and enhance the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":76609,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76608","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-other-news"],"yoast_head":"\n