Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, said his administration is determined to reposition the agricultural sector through immediate social interventions and long-term sustainable solutions to guarantee food security in the state.

Mr Otti said this on Friday night during his monthly media chat at the Government House, Umuahia.

He emphasised the need for citizens to move beyond social interventions, such as the provision of farming implements and interest-free loans.

According to him, while the initiatives have so far supported farmers, sustainable food security requires transitioning from subsistence farming to commercial agriculture.

“We must begin to see agriculture as a business, if we truly want to guarantee food security, interest-free loans are helpful, but they don’t go so far. We are working on strategies to ensure a more effective deployment of resources for maximum impact in the agriculture sector,” the governor said.

He further said that his administration had started exploring new strategies to scale up commercial farming and optimising resource allocation across the state.

He stated that the state government had made significant progress in clearing salary arrears owed staff at the Dr Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic, Aba.

The governor noted that efficient measures had been put in place to identify staff members that were disengaged by the previous administration and those who did not return to after being recalled.

He said the measure was to ensure that only eligible persons received their outstanding payments, adding that his government inherited 34-month salary arrears and has so far cleared 18 months.

He, therefore, gave assurance that payments would continue on a structured basis, with arrears being disbursed on the 28th of every month, alongside regular salaries.

Mr Otti also gave reasons behind government’s decision to relocate the faculties of Agriculture and Law of the Abia State University, Uturu from Umuahia to the main campus in Uturu.

He said the decision was informed by the need to promote sustainable development of the institution, adding that the relocation followed months of evaluation by a visitation panel, which submitted a report based on verifiable data.

He said the state government subsequently accepted the recommendations from the report and issued a white paper endorsing the relocation.

Mr Otti, however, announced an extension of the timeline for the relocation of both faculties to June to allow for the completion of the building of necessary infrastructure.

“The decision was well-studied and well-intentioned, because we want the university to function as a university and not as a multi-campus institution,” he said.

Mr Otti said that while Uturu possessed the necessary resources to support agriculture and law studies, the relocation aligned with the government’s broader vision for ABSU.

He added that the decision was in the best interest of the university’s long-term development plan.
(NAN)