23/04/2012 (BusinessDay) - Agriculture and allied products experts will today assemble in Benin City, the Edo State capital to brainstorm and unfold strategies to improve agricultural productivity in the state.

The experts will be discussing at the state’s first agribusiness investment summit, which is coming three days ahead of the South- South Economic Summit billed to take place in Asaba, Delta state from April 26 to April 28. Edo State, with about 1.6 million hectares of land is noted for cassava, palm produce, rubber and cocoa production, and this is done currently by subsistence farmers whose productivity is on the decline owing to outmoded practices and waning interest in farming among the polpulace.

Abdul Oroh, state commissioner for agriculture and natural resources told BusinessDay in an exclusive interview on the summit: “ Our major economic base is agriculture and that is what we are working on now.

“Our ultimate plan is to put agriculture on the front- burner, to make it the biggest employer of labour, provide quality employment and not back-breaking tilling of the soil”, Oroh added.

Oroh said: “Right, now Edo state is the leading producer of cassava in the South- South states. Our vision is to be number one in the country. We don’t only want to produce cassava but want to develop it, that is to produce it for chips, high quality cassava flour, ethanol, basic food consumption such as garri, industrial raw materials like glucose and starch, among others.

“These are the ideas, so we are already working on them. We also want to bring in those businesses that are already thriving in the agricultural sector, such as food processing like Dansa Food of Dangote”, he added.

Oroh told BusinessDay that speakers invited from other parts of the world include Patrick Kormawa, UNIDO representative and director, regional office, who will speak on the topic, ‘Agribusiness options for Edo state” at the summit with the theme, ‘Transforming Agriculture in Edo state” has Audu Ogbeh, the second republic agriculture minister as chairman.

“Graham Hefer, managing director, Okomu Oil Palm Plc, a South- African, will speak on “ over- coming challenges of Agriculture” and Tony Bello, Senior Technical Adviser to the Agriculture minister on Agribusiness, will speak on “ Enhancing value chain of major production in Edo state”.

Adeji Akinyoju, managing director, Food Concepts, Jude Uzonwanne, head, Project Implementation Office of the Nigerian Incentive- Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), Peter Akpokpodion, the team leader, Cocoa Value Chain Development and CBN representative, among others will be speaking at the summit.

Governor Adams Oshiomhole will give the opening remarks, while the state commissioner for agriculture and natural resources, Abdul Oroh will present the welcome address at the one day summit.