CHIEF JUDGE BACKS DATA-GATHERING OF FARMERS
The Chief Judge of Akwa Ibom State, Honourable Justice Godwin Abraham has thrown his weight behind the ongoing enumeration of farmers in Akwa Ibom State, expressing confidence that the exercise will revolutionize agriculture and solve the food crisis in the state.
The number one judge in the state who described himself as a proud farmer, equally pledged the backing of the Judiciary to ensure the success of the farmer data-gathering initiative of Governor Udom Emmanuel’s administration.
Justice Abraham exuded high enthusiasm when the Executive Director of the Directorate of Agricultural Investments, AKICORP, Uyo, Pastor Umo Eno, led a team of enumerators to visit and enumerate him in his office at the State Judiciary headquarters, June 8, 2020.
Farming, the Chief Judge ventilated, was not only for food sufficiency to him, but a hobby. “There’s something about me and farming. I don’t just farm; it’s my hobby,” the ebullient judge enthused. Expatiating, he submitted that farming was most essential of services to the society.
According to him, “if there is money in your hand and there’s no food to buy, you will not eat the money. So, I encourage everyone to embrace farming. We must encourage farming because of the importance of food sufficiency.”
The Chief Judge whose hectares of crops are located in Oruk Anam local government area, lamented that scarcity of land for farming was a major concern to him, especially as he was considering expanding into multiple crops cultivation. He advocated that land allocation for farming should be a top priority; pinpointing out that cash crops like palm trees require more hectares to cultivate in commercially viable quantity.
He was, however, confident that with Pastor Umo Eno heading the enumeration team, the government would expect nothing but quality database for planning. He highlighted the fact that international donor agencies were interested in the quality of database of farmers before investing resources and also encourage food value chain for export.
Earlier, the Pastor Umo Eno had intimated the judge of the State Government’s determination to support farmers and attract more investments into the sector, and that the enumeration of farmers was pivotal to driving the completion agenda of the administration. The data, he restated, would enhance investment opportunities in agriculture, improve the quality of farm output, engender value chain and boost food sufficiency in the state.
