OPEN LETTER TO HIS EXCELLENCY, RT. HON. SHERIFF OBOREVWORI THE EXECUTIVE GOVERNOR OF DELTA STATE
THROUGH,
THE HONOURABLE COMMISSIONER FOR AGRICULTURE, DELTA STATE
PROPOSAL TO THE DELTA STATE GOVERNMENT
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TITLE
KICK-START AN AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION NOW IN DELTA STATE USING SONGHAI FARM, AMUKPE–SAPELE, AS THE OPERATIONAL BASE
YOUR EXCELLENCY,
Special greetings to you, and sincere commendation for your purposeful deployment of the MORE Agenda, which has significantly transformed the infrastructure architecture of Delta State and repositioned it on a path toward world‑class standards. Your administration has demonstrated clarity of vision, political will, and commitment to changing the development narrative of our dear State.
Government, being a continuous work in progress, demands bold and timely interventions. It is in this spirit that this proposal strongly advocates the immediate declaration and implementation of an Agricultural Revolution as a strategic pillar for employment generation, inclusive wealth creation, and economic diversification. By this approach, each Local Government Area will become an active owner of functional farm estates built around their proven comparative advantages.
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Delta State is strategically positioned to lead Nigeria’s next phase of agricultural transformation. With abundant arable land, diverse ecological zones, a favourable climate, vibrant human capital, and existing public assets, the State possesses clear comparative advantages to achieve food security, massive job creation, import substitution, and sustainable wealth creation.
This proposal advocates an urgent, structured, and results‑driven Agricultural Revolution, anchored on Songhai Farm, Amukpe–Sapele, as the central operational headquarters, innovation hub, and coordination engine for statewide agricultural development. The strategy adopts a cluster farm estate model, fully integrated with processing, storage, marketing, and private‑sector participation (PPP) to ensure sustainability and measurable impact.
The intervention prioritizes high‑impact value chains where Delta State already enjoys natural and competitive advantages: Tomatoes, Yam, Cassava (Industrial Starch), Rice, and Aquaculture.
2. BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE
Despite its enormous endowments, Delta State’s economy remains largely under‑optimized. Rising unemployment, youth restiveness, food inflation, and heavy import dependence underscore the urgent need for a decisive policy shift toward production‑based growth.
Agriculture remains the fastest, most inclusive, and most sustainable pathway to unlocking the State’s economy. What is required is strong political will, clarity of policy direction, disciplined execution, and effective institutional coordination.
The State already possesses a strategic asset—Songhai Farm, Amukpe–Sapele—which can be repositioned as the nerve centre for planning, training, production coordination, monitoring, and implementation of a comprehensive Agricultural Revolution.
3. VISION AND OBJECTIVES
Vision
To position Delta State as Nigeria’s leading agro‑industrial hub through coordinated, market‑driven, and technology‑enabled agriculture.
Core Objectives
Achieve food security and price stability
Create mass employment for youths and women
Promote import substitution and conserve foreign exchange
Expand Internally Generated Revenue (IGR)
Develop integrated agro‑industrial value chains
Attract sustained local and foreign private investment
4. INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK: SONGHAI FARM, AMUKPE, AS OPERATIONAL HEADQUARTERS
Songhai Farm, Amukpe shall function as the State’s:
Central Operational Control Base
Training and capacity‑building centre
Research, innovation, and agricultural extension hub
Monitoring and evaluation unit
Agribusiness incubation centre for young agripreneurs
All cluster farm estates and PPP‑driven agricultural projects across Delta State shall be coordinated from this hub.
5. PRIORITY AGRICULTURAL VALUE CHAINS AND CLUSTER PROJECTS
5.1 Tomato Cluster Farm Estate – Igbodo (Ika North‑East LGA)
Igbodo possesses exceptional soil fertility where tomatoes thrive naturally.
Proposed Intervention:
Establish a large‑scale Tomato Cluster Farm Estate in Igbodo
Develop a Tomato Processing and Assembly Plant in Agbor under a PPP arrangement
Expected Outputs:
Production of “Sheriff Sachet Tomatoes (SST)”
Over 3,000 direct on‑farm jobs
Approximately 50 skilled factory jobs
Strong market linkages supported by an organized distributor network
Operational Model:
Government provides land and enabling infrastructure
Farmers cultivate on an acre‑by‑acre basis
Processing plant guarantees off‑take at fixed and fair prices per kilogram
5.2 Yam Cluster Farm Estates – Abavo & Asabase (Ndokwa Axis)
Abavo and Asabase are established natural yam belts with superior soil suitability.
Proposed Intervention:
Development of dedicated Yam‑Only Commercial Farm Estates
Large‑scale, standardized production
Target Markets:
Lagos Food Processing Centre
Domestic urban markets
Export opportunities, including shipment through Warri Port
Outcome: Positioning Delta State as Nigeria’s leading yam‑producing hub.
5.3 Cassava for Industrial Starch – Delta Central & Isoko Zones
Cassava presents immense potential for industrial starch production, a sector with high foreign exchange demand.
Coverage:
Ten (10) LGAs in Delta Central
Isoko North and Isoko South LGAs
Scale:
Minimum of 1,000 hectares per LGA
Technical Leadership:
Pilot project to be driven by Prof. Engr. Rim Rukeh Akpofure, in collaboration with the Delta State Ministry of Agriculture
Expected Impact:
Significant foreign exchange savings
Reliable supply of industrial raw materials
Strong academia–government–industry collaboration
5.4 Swamp Rice Production – Supplying the Jesse Rice Mill
Delta State’s swamp ecology offers a natural advantage for rice cultivation.
Proposed Locations:
Warri South LGA
Warri North LGA
Ughelli South LGA
Ethiope East LGA
Ethiope West LGA
Bomadi LGA
Burutu LGA
Operational Model:
Paddy rice production by participating LGAs
Guaranteed supply to the existing Jesse Rice Mill (Ethiope West LGA)
Processing and branding as “Sheriff Rice”
This PPP framework guarantees market access and value addition.
5.5 Aquaculture and Fish Processing
Delta State’s extensive riverine environment supports large‑scale aquaculture.
Proposed Actions:
Establishment of fish production clusters
Development of processing and cold‑chain facilities
PPP partnerships patterned after successful Bayelsa State models
Investment Facilitation:
Engagement of credible local and foreign investors, with strategic stakeholder support
6. PUBLIC–PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP (PPP) STRATEGY
Government: Land provision, policy support, infrastructure, coordination
Private Sector: Capital investment, technology, processing, marketing
Farmers: Production, aggregation, and primary value creation
This model minimizes public financial exposure while maximizing socio‑economic impact with minimal strain on public resources.
7. ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL IMPACT
Tens of thousands of direct and indirect jobs
Sustainable youth and women empowerment
Reduction in food prices and inflationary pressures
Increased Internally Generated Revenue (IGR)
Accelerated rural development and enhanced security
Improved investor confidence in Delta State
8. LONG‑TERM STRATEGIC RECOMMENDATION
It is strongly recommended that Songhai Farm, Amukpe–Sapele, be upgraded into a University of Agriculture to institutionalize agricultural education, research, and innovation.
Agriculture must be treated as a compulsory pillar of development, not an optional afterthought. Nations that neglect agriculture inevitably invite food insecurity and economic vulnerability.
9. ALIGNMENT WITH THE MORE AGENDA OF THE OBOROVWORI ADMINISTRATION
This Agricultural Revolution framework directly advances the core pillars of the MORE Agenda:
Meaningful Development: Through agro‑industrial clusters, processing plants, and export‑driven value chains.
Opportunities for All: By creating large‑scale employment for youths, women, farmers, artisans, processors, marketers, and logistics providers.
Realistic Reforms: By transitioning from a consumption‑based economy to a production‑driven growth model.
Enhanced Peace and Security: By productively engaging idle youths, thereby reducing restiveness and crime.
This proposal therefore serves as a practical economic engine for delivering measurable MORE Agenda outcomes within one political cycle.
10. CONCLUSION AND CALL TO ACTION
Your Excellency, the time to act is now. Procrastination is costly, and delay only deepens economic hardship. Delta State has nothing to lose and everything to gain by decisively embarking on this Agricultural Revolution.
With focused leadership, disciplined policy execution, and collective resolve, Delta State can feed itself, employ its people, and lead Nigeria by example.
God bless Your Excellency.
God bless Delta State.
Comrade Evang. Wilson Macaulay is a
Journalist and Development Advocate based in
Warri, Delta State 08030886420 Whatsapp only
(DEMOCRACY NEWSLINE NEWSPAPER, FEBRUARY 6TH 2026)
