HON. IKE C IBE PROFFERS IDEAS ON HOW TO GIVE IMO YOUTHS A MEANINGFUL AND SUSTAINABLE EMPLOYMENT. HE WROTE: ''LET'S TALK ABOUT IMO''

Hon. Ike C Ibe

I remember when I was a little kid. I loved to follow my grandmother to the farm anytime I came to our village on weekends and that was a lot of times. We were imbibed with the belief that a big farmer never lacked anything. These days, I still relish the weekends I go to my farm just to watch my yams and cassava. It feels good to touch the plants and feel the soil. When I harvested my over 5000 tubers of yam two weeks ago in Nassarawa state, I had a great feeling. To acquire a farm land in Nassarawa is as easy as saying abc. But not in IMO. I remember also as a kid when I used to go with my friends to the Ulonna farm settlements at Agugiri Umuahia. We spent weekends in my friend's family farm house. We would pluck oranges, udara, mangoes, avocado pear etc. We would process palm oil etc. My friend's family made thousands every weekend and we would return to the city with bags full of foodstuff and pockets filled with money. That was Then. I have often wondered why we no longer have farm settlements anywhere. Why can't govts arrange for young people to acquire hectares of land in different local govts and be incentivized to go into commercial faming. Imagine if in IMO for instance that each local govt has 100 hectares of farmed lands, that will be 2700 hectares of farm in the state. There will be surplus food and at least one related cottage industry in each local govt processing products from these farms. There will be less unemployment. We could actually be feeding most of the nation and or exporting some. There would be a reduction of cultists and 'yahooligans' because youths across the state will be happy competitive farmers with money in their pockets and dignity in their lives. We could do these things with committed and non political leadership across the land. We can achieve a lot with simple programs not coloured with political connotations. LET'S TALK ABOUT IMO. God bless and keep us all.
By Hon. IKE IBE.