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By Dennis Agbo
Preparations of the 15,000 hectares of land for the Enugu state Produce City has commenced at Ikem-Nkwo in Isi-Uzo local government area of Enugu State.
A visit to the site, on Sunday, by our correspondent indicated that no less that 3,000 hectares of the land have been cleared with bulldozers, with many workers in the field packing the logs of trees felled, with complementing tree-cutting machines.
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Tractors with ploughing, harrowing and ridging implements were at work in some portions of the land located in the rain forest, a land the natives said was probably never cultivated by their ancestors.
The workers in the field told our correspondent that the site used to be the den of Kidnappers with human skeleton and wild animals such as tiger encountered in the process of the farm clearing.
Speaking on the progress of the land preparation, the Agriculturalist and Chairman of Ugwuanama Farms limited, Alhaji Sani Nnaji said that all is now set for Enugu state to compete as one of the food baskets of Nigeria, noting that proper farming in the Enugu produce city has commenced.
“This is the Produce City, the outcome of my company’s partnership with the Enugu State government, where we were awarded 15,000 hectares of land in Ikem-Nkwo, Isi-Uzo local government area. As you can see the clearing has started.
“What you are seeing here is the developmental pattern of Governor Peter Mbah to revolutionize agriculture in Enugu state. We’re doing the land preparation and it has gone far. This is just the starting point, we’ll use three years in clearing and plantation. If you come back here any moment from now, we will start planting of economic trees, crops like cassava and beans.
“We’re waiting for the Honourable Commissioner for Agriculture to come by next week so that we can launch the planting season in this farm, after which full cultivation will begin in full swing.”