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THE NATION TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2014
THE NORTH REPORT
Women farmers in Kwara get attention •Continued from page 31 bean and others. Who else are potential beneficiaries? “I think they have started now. I believe that by next year, they will have more voice to talk and more people will get to know them. I have solicited from the ministry that they should add some money in the next budget. The same will apply to the Federal Government. By the time the state starts, I am sure that the Federal Government and even the local governments will have some packages for them.” Director, Agriculture and Engineering Services, the state’s Ministry of Natural Resources, Oyedele Abifarin said the state plans to make every farmer a mini-commercial farmer. He said: “The N250 million loan that was granted to the farmers this year has already been disbursed to 172 farmers. “If these people are willing to pay, the governor had promised that he will expand it from the pilot scheme to a full blown one where everybody will become mini-commercial farmers, because the determination of what you are going to grow will be
•Women in their farm
from the beginning, knowing your off-taker and knowing where you are selling. “This year’s loan facility is already gone but by the time they register, we will know them and we will be able to plan for next year. The ministry has been assisting women in their agricultural development activities. But it can never be enough. “We will continue to strive to develop our women because they are
the other arm of men. Women are very useful to the family. Since women are in agriculture, we know that our family will be properly fed. As a result of this, we will continue to empower them. “We have advised them to form co-operative societies; because it is through the society that they can access loans. Government, as a facilitator, will continue to provide grants in order to develop agriculture and
to ensure that they get what is required for them to develop our agriculture. “If they are in co-operatives, the banks will be able to listen to them. With government’s off-taker-driven agriculture, this allows the producers which are the farmers, to be able to determine and know what to produce even before they start. “From there, if they articulate it very well, they would have known
the person to buy their product, who is the off-taker and the price to sell to be able to determine their gains. This will develop our agriculture very well and there would be no wastage. “The era of when you produce and you do not have somebody to buy the produce is gone. We are to determine who will buy it before the farmer produces. That is what Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed is doing.”
Mambilla honour for Umar •Continued from page 31
•One of the tourist sites in Kwara
‘Tourism can earn more revenue than oil’
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MID dwindling economic fortunes of the Federal Government, experts in the hospitality industry, under the aegis of Association of Hotel Owners in Kwara State, have said the tourism sector has the potential of generating more money to government’s coffers than crude oil, if properly harnessed. Therefore, the association canvassed a synergy between the state and the federal governments in the development of tourist sites in various parts of the country. The chairman of Kwara State chapter of the association, Chief Michael Oyeyipo, disclosed this to reporters in Ilorin, the state capital, while briefing them on the activities lined up by the association to mark this year’s World Tourism Day. “If you go to Obudu Cattle Resort, you will be surprised at what you find there. International tourists come there as a matter of cause; sport enthusiasts from all over the world come there. I believe if the Federal Government allocates enough funds for the development of the sector, huge revenue will ac-
From Adekunle Jimoh, Ilorin
crue to its coffers. “The federal and state governments can jointly establish such a place all over the country and develop them. Dubai in the United Arabs Emirate was developed within a short time and it has become such a tourist attraction all over the world. Such feat can be achieved in Nigeria,” he said. He also challenged the National Assembly to advise state governments to pay more attention to tourism development, adding that state governments should make tourism one of their policy thrusts. He further said tourism had contributed immensely to enhanced internally-generated revenue (IGR) of many state governments. He cited Cross River’s Obudu Cattle Ranch, Bauchi’s Yankari Games Reserve and its Warm Springs, Ekiti’s Ikogosi Warm Springs and Holiday Resort and Yobe’s Argungu Fishing Festival as some of the tourists’ sites that yield huge revenues for the respective states. The hotelier, who said tourist sites abound in Kwara State, which he
said include Esie Stone Image Museum, Patigi Regatta, Awon Festival, Owu Waterfall and Owa Kajola Warm Spring. He added that genuine effort towards developing them would boost the revenue profile of the state. Chief Oyeyipo, who identified inadequate infrastructural facilities such as access roads, provision of potable water and inadequate electricity supply as some of the challenges the industry is experiencing in Kwara State, called on government to address them urgently to help business growth. “To worsen the already very difficult operating conditions faced by the hospitality industry, the rates and tax regime in the state have not been friendly. More often than not, multiplicity of taxes has almost crippled the industry,” he said. He maintained that operators in the industry remained undaunted in carrying out their businesses despite the challenges, adding that they are determined to meet the aspiration of government which regards them as the engine of growth for the state’s socio-economic development.
tions to the development of the Mambilla Plateau and Taraba State.” The monarch noted that the Acting Governor played a pivotal role in settling the chieftaincy crisis which had rocked the people of Mambilla for 12 years. “He (Umar) used his wisdom to reconcile the hitherto warring ruling houses within the few months of his assumption of office,” he said. Baju added that the Acting Governor should see the title -which is highest in the land, as a challenge to do more for the development of not only Mambilla Plateau, but also the entire state. The Sardaunan Mambilla said he has been honoured in the past with several traditional titles and awards, but the recognition by the Mambilla people was “very special and dear” to him. Umar said the honour was special because of its historic attachment to the shining star of Northern Nigeria, the late Sardauna of Sokoto Sir Ahmadu Bello. “I feel humbled to be honoured by the people of Mambilla. As I took time to reflect on the significance of this event, I have come to the conclusion that, for whatever reasons, I have been chosen to serve as the Sardaunan Mambilla. What I will not shy away from is the fact that I have, again, been called upon to do more. “I assure the royal fathers and everyone present that I will do my best to justify the confidence reposed in me,” he said. The Emir of Muri, Abbas Tafida praised the people of Mambilla Plateau for “building a bridge of peace,” by conferring on the Acting Governor the title of Sardaunan Mambilla, as Umar hails from Karim-Lamido Local Government Area of the state. Tafida sued for unity among the various ethnic and religious groups in Taraba State to enable the state to develop. He added that the people
‘The state government should establish a potato processing plant to tap the potential as well as set up special insemination units on the Mambilla Plateau to produce better cows with better value. The government should acquire and provide grass seeds which could be grown on the Plateau to improve the forests for both domestic and international consumptions; for the people and cattle’ would have nowhere to go if Taraba is destroyed. He said: “Developing Mambilla Plateau must be a priority of the government of Taraba State, because it will mean developing the people of the area by encouraging their education for the exploitation of the abundant potential that abounds there. “The state government should establish a potato processing plant to tap the potential as well as set up special insemination units on the Mambilla Plateau to produce better cows with better value. “The government should acquire and provide grass seeds which could be grown on the Plateau to improve the forests for both domestic and international consumptions; for the people and cattle.”