Ben Ezechime, Enugu
The Enugu State Government says it has secured $20 million for investment in livestock development.
Governor Peter Mbah dusclosed this when he received the Consul-General and Head of Trade of the Peoples Republic of Denmark, Mrs Jette Bjerrum, at Government House, Enugu.
The Consul-General said he was in the Enugu government house to discuss collaboration in Agricultural value chain environment, food technology and renewable energy.
The governor said that his administration planned to build massive ranch that will take 20,000 cattle, create value for the produce as well as setting up a special agro-processing zone that will be one– stop shop for manufacturers.
Gov. Mbah also said that as part of the partnership with Denmark, Enugu State had already signed a business agreement with a Danish company ODK Group.
He said: “We have already signed an agreement with the Danish Company, ODK Group, and that agreement is going to see us procure tractors from them.
“What is also interesting is that they are also willing to have their assembly plant here, but we feel that this is just an entry point.
“We also have over 300,000 hectares secured as landbank for agriculture.
“So, just as in Denmark, agriculture is also our lifeblood. 40 per cent of our economy is predicated on agriculture.
“We equally have an initiative that we are implementing now called Farm Estate, which is across the 260 electoral wards in Enugu. So, each ward is going to have a massive expanse of land that is going to be access-controlled.
“We also plan to create value on those products. So, we are setting up Special Agro-Processing Zones that will come up soon.
“This is going to be a one-stop shop for manufacturers where you will have everything you need to have for manufacturing like water, access roads, electricity, even the houses and the warehouses. You just plug and play.
“In livestock, we are investing hugely and we are also looking for partnership in that regard. We have secured about $20 million for investment in livestock. We are working on a massive ranch; we expect that ranch to take over 20,000 cows.”
Mbah also highlighted opportunities in various other sectors such as tourism, health, logistics, and aviation.
He said that very soon cargo terminal will become operational for exportation of agro produce and other goods from the state.
According to him: “The international wing of the Airport will also be operational this year, with flight going to UK, Europe and some other parts of the world.
“Enugu State is open for business and investment and had created a lot of business opportunities for investors.
“We must be accountable, transparent, everything will be opened.
“There is nothing hidden. We will process applications very fast. We have set up Enugu Geographical Information System (ENGIS) to process your land titles.
“We have a special hub for commerce We have a small case court where we will get issues solved. That is extremely important to us.
”We are committed to growing our economy seven fold within the next seven to eight years and we recognise that agro is going to come through collaboration, partnership, with the private sector investment.
“We have put in place mechanism and a lot of framework to ensure ease of doing business with the private sector. We are not only interested in creating an enabling environment, certain elements of investments will be finance, technical, sometimes commercial.”
Earlier, the Consul-General and Head of Trade of the People’s Republic of Denmark, Mrs Jette Djerrum, told the governor that they came to discuss areas they will partner with Enugu state, saying they were ready to invest in the state through robust partnership.
She said that contrary to negative generalisation, Enugu State was an example that many good things were happening in Nigeria.
“People Google all the bad stories, but we want them to know the good stories too; to say this (Enugu State) is also Nigeria, and this is where good people build trust and work with transparency, accountability, and traceability.
“I am here to understand what is important for Enugu. They (Denmark and Enugu State) have similarities. Transparency, accountability and transformation are important values for Enugu. They are also important values for Denmark. Inclusion, diversity and equality at all levels for everybody also.
“What we hear as music from the governor is the focus on children, the focus on our young people. The Smart School initiative, which is really impressive. The agriculture value chain. The waste and the waste to energy transformation. All the logistics initiatives that are going on.
“The international airport, the cargo space and the healthcare projects that are also being driven by the Governor. We are really impressed.
“We now need to be fast because things really move fast here in Enugu.
“We are here to figure out how we can help to improve on them more. We have Danish companies here. We have the group that is supplying the first tractors. We have a new tractor assembly centre. So, how do we get more Danish companies to come here, establish themselves and work together with Enugu citizens? That’s why we’re here,” she stated.
“We come from a country of waste to power, wind and solar energy. We know you cannot do it in a day, but we would like to know how to support the process, and then capacity building.
“The low hanging fruits will be in agriculture because that is what we do. That will also include logistics and so forth,” she said.
