Abia plans to concession Ogwe Golden Chicken to Israeli firm for revival
From Boniface Okoro, Umuahia
Abia State government has disclosed its plans to concession Ogwe Golden Chicken, a state-owned gigantic poultry farm, to an Israeli firm in order to revive to moribund poultry company.
Ogwe Golden Chicken located in Ukwa area of the state was a popular poultry farm in the Old Imo State. The fortunes of the farm which was a huge resource earner for the state then, began to dwindle when it was ceded to Abia State upon the creation of God’s Own State until it went moribund as previous administrations abandoned it to rot away.
But in its strides to revolutionize agriculture in the state, the Dr. Alex Otti-led administration is exploring avenues to revitalize the poultry farm to boost the economy of the state and generate employment
Governor Otti who dropped the hint about advanced plans to bring Ogwe Golden Chicken back to life while receiving a delegation of an Israeli agro business investment company, AgroTop Isreal, said:
“Farming generally, and specifically poultry, is an important aspect of our strategy. In the past, there have been poultry farms around the state that actually did well.
“One of them is the Ogwe Golden Chicken. It has been abandoned for a while but we have plans to get it back to life just like we are getting back to life, a lot of other abandoned industries and projects.
“So, we are not going to start from ground zero because there is something on ground. It may have become obsolete; technology may have moved but at least we have a location.
“By the time we ask all the questions and we are satisfied that you are the right partners, we can begin to think of concessioning the farm to you and your partners.”
Governor Otti described as interesting that the Israeli company has established its presence in over 50 countries around the world, saying that Abia would be happy to partner with them in various agricultural value chains, including piggery. He thanked them for coming and bringing such business proposal to Abia State.
Leader of the delegation and the Business Development Manager, AgroTop Israel, Mr. Ofer Zuntz, told the Governor that they were interested in partnering Abia State in the area of agriculture, particularly livestock, including poultry and piggery among others.
Zuntz said that working together with Abia State Government would bring value to the partners, adding that their projects are not white elephant ones as their business exists in over 50 different countries and 5 continents of the world.
He assured Governor Otti that their Company approaches business and investment with no exit strategy as they have a policy of long-term business relationship.
Earlier, the founding Director of Max Agro Farms, development partners of AgroTop Israel, Mr. Ejike Nwankwo, said that they have a relationship with the Israeli company on agricultural solutions with primary focus on poultry production, adding that the visit was intended to present themselves for investment that would be mutually beneficial to the Israeli Company and the State.
Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr. Cliff Agbaeze, Chief Strategy Officer to the Government, Mr. Chinenye Mba-Uzoukwu, Director-General, Public-Private Partnership and Investment Promotion Office, Mr. Chinedu Chijioke, Technical Assistant to the Governor, Mr. Charles Egonye, Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Mr. Ferdinand Ekeoma, Director-General, Ministry of Finance Incorporated, Mr. Osinachi Nwaka, and Special Adviser to the Governor on Monitoring and Evaluation, Mazi Ugochukwu Okoroafor, were among the top Government officials present during the working visit.
