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 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

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