Pineapples grown on state-owned Enugu-San Carlos 150-hectare pineapple
farm will begin to make their way to Europe for export this year, state
commissioner for information, Chuks Ugwoke, has said.
The
150-hectare farm is a joint venture (JV) owned by the Enugu state
government and Mexican farming conglomerate, San Carlos. Approved by the
Enugu state government in 2012, the JV was established for commercial
production of pineapple for both local consumption and export.
Speaking
Monday’s state executive council meeting presided over by Governor
Sullivan Chime at the Government House, Ugwoke said the government was
considering expanding its agricultural business on the farm, as the
council had approved the sum of N880.9m for the introduction of banana
and livestock, particularly cattle.
Other investments include
the sum of N1.1bn for the completion of construction work on two major
inter-local government rural roads in parts of the state and about
N48.8m for the implementation of the health commodity supply in Awgu,
Enugu East, Igbo-Eze South, Nkanu West, Nsukka and Udi local government
areas.
To encourage agribusiness in the state, Ugwoke said the
state council directed that a bill should be drafted for a law to
upgrade the State College of Agriculture and Agro-Entrepreneurship in
Iwollo Oghe, as well as the Enugu State Polytechnic.
If the bill
is passed into law by the state house of assembly, it will reduce the
bottlenecks of seeking admission into higher institution of learning and
also facilitate investment from other parts of the country.
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