The Ebonyi State Government has announced plans to establish an integrated ranch as part of the Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support (L-PRES) project in the state.
The Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mrs Nkechinyere Iyioku, made the disclosure on Wednesday in Abakaliki during a visit by the L-PRES implementation support mission.
Iyioku said the ranch, which is expected to be launched before the team’s next visit in July, would mark the beginning of full-scale implementation of the project in Ebonyi.
“We have secured a site for the project as its design and funding are ready. Everyone will be happy with the flag-off of this signature project in the state,” she stated.
The commissioner noted that the mission’s recommendations would be implemented with dedication to ensure Ebonyi stands out as one of the best performing L-PRES states in the country.
“They recommended the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model to ensure sustainability when we are no longer in office. We are grateful to Gov. Francis Nwifuru for his support to the programme and overall commitment towards agricultural development in the state,” she said.
Speaking earlier, the leader of the Implementation Support Mission, Mr Wasiu Adeoye, explained that the delegation included representatives from the programme’s National Coordinating Office, the World Bank, the Development Bank of Nigeria, and other stakeholders.
“We are in Ebonyi to review the progress of the state L-PRES office, ascertain the level of teamwork and challenges being encountered. We would appropriately x-ray and digest issues discovered during this visit,” Adeoye said.
He commended the state L-PRES office for its resilience despite initial difficulties.
“The challenges are because Ebonyi is one of the last batches of implementing states in the country, and such cannot be ruled out. They are undergoing a learning process, as their duties are technical and not what one was taught in the higher institution.
We have, however, designed frameworks to guide and offer them physical footings for efficient service delivery,” he added.
Also speaking, the State Programme Coordinator of L-PRES, Mr Victor Nwite, expressed optimism that insights gained from the support mission would be put to positive use.