Governor Martin Elechi of Eboyi is to head the State Agricultural Development Corporation which he inaugurated on Thursday.
The eight-member board has Mathew Uguru, the immediate-past chairman of Abakaliki Local Government, as the corporation’s general manager.
Elechi said the board’s inauguration signaled the practical turnaround of agriculture in the state.
“The board will manage the three newly-constructed rice mills in the state, the oil mill at Edda, and the state-owned hatchery, among other agricultural establishments in the state.
“This will make the State Ministry of Agriculture concentrate on the administrative part of our agricultural transformation agenda to boost the sector in the state,” he said.
According to him, the main thrust of the board is to make the people, especially the youths, to massively embrace agriculture.
“The apathy of the people toward agricultural enhancement should change which is shown by their negative attitude toward agricultural policies and programmmes.
“My predecessor procured several tractors for agricultural purposes, but they were not used for the purposes for which they were procured.
The governor also said that the new rice parboiling machines manufactured in China alongside new tractors and harvesters would arrive in the state before the end of January to boost rice production.
Uguru, while responding on behalf of others, thanked the governor for appointing them into the board and promised to justify the confidence reposed in them.
“We would discharge our duties with utmost honesty and dedication to realise the objectives for which the board was set-up,” he said.