By Victor Nwegede
The Executive Chairman of Ezza South Local Government Area in Ebonyi State, Chief Mrs. Euphemia Nwali, has disclosed that her administration has planted 10,000 economic trees and raised 30,000 palm seedlings as part of a comprehensive strategy to boost agriculture and enhance food security across the council area.
Speaking with journalists in Abakaliki on Thursday, Mrs. Nwali said the initiative is designed to combat erosion, beautify the environment, and stimulate economic activity through agro-based development.
She said the trees, which included palm, mango, cashew, orange, rubber, guava, and others, are being planted across schools, farmlands, and communities, while the palm seedlings are being distributed to traditional rulers, town union leaders, councillors, and residents.
“We embarked on the planting of 10,000 trees because it will help us control erosion, improve our environment, and boost the local economy. We are doing this for the future,” she stated.
She added that the tree planting campaign covers all primary and secondary schools in Ezza South, with the local government supplying the trees free of charge and supervising their planting.
Mrs. Nwali also announced that over 30,000 palm seedlings have been raised in the local government and are currently being planted or shared among residents for private and communal farming.
“We shared the palm seedlings to traditional rulers, stakeholders, schools, town union executives, councillors, and farmers. Whether the council plants them directly or shares them to individuals, the most important thing is that they are planted in Ezza South,” she said.
Highlighting the council’s agricultural strides, the chairman said Ezza South has ventured into large-scale cultivation of cassava, maize, yam, cocoyam, cucumber, rice, and pepper. She added that the council also supports poultry and fishery farming.
She stated that all government officials in the LGA, including councillors, supervisors, and appointees, have been mandated to establish and maintain personal farms.
“No land in Ezza South should be left uncultivated. If you can't farm it yourself, get someone else to help and share the produce. We must avoid hunger at all costs,” she said.
Nwali also noted that the local government has distributed farming inputs such as fertilizer, rice seedlings, and chemicals to farmers to support increased production.
To further support agricultural productivity, she said the council has commenced construction of a 5-kilometre concrete road connecting communities, which, according to her, will ease the movement of goods and people from farms to markets.
"That road leads to several farms, markets, and schools. It is a major access route that will enhance agricultural harvest and rural commerce in Ezza South,” she added.
She reiterated her administration’s commitment to making food abundant and affordable in the area, citing the availability of cheap foodstuff in markets such as Eke and others as evidence of the success of the council’s agricultural programmes.
