By Okporie Chima
The Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Ebonyi State Coordinating Office, has intensified its drive to strengthen industrial growth in the state with an on-the-spot needs assessment visit to Ogbu Orji Farms Limited, home to a promising cassava processing plant located along the Ogbu-Owutu road in Afikpo South Local Government Area.
Leading the delegation, Assistant Director Mrs. Nwagu P. N. expressed appreciation to the farm’s consultant for the warm reception. She highlighted RMRDC’s mandate and explained that the visit was designed to obtain first-hand insight into the plant’s operations, challenges, and overall capacity.
According to her, needs assessment is crucial for identifying gaps between current performance and desired outcomes. This, she noted, guides informed decision-making, strategic planning, and effective resource allocation. “This project will give the Council a clear picture of existing needs and skill gaps within industries,” she said. “Understanding these needs enables us to design tailored solutions, enhance program effectiveness, and address issues more strategically.”
Mrs. Nwagu added that the assessment also aims to evaluate the plant’s machinery, raw material sourcing, and general management structure to better understand how the Council can support improved productivity.
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Responding, the farm’s consultant, Dr. Mrs. Nnenna Ama, thanked the RMRDC team for their visit. She revealed that Ogbu Orji Farms was established on 13 October 2017 with a mandate to engage in agricultural operations, food production, processing, packaging, and distribution. The farm, she said, operates through multiple sections, ncluding agro production and processing units.
However, Dr. Ama noted that despite the availability of raw materials within the farm, operations are hampered by inadequate power supply and a shortage of labour. She emphasized the enormous potential of the cassava processing plant in boosting the cassava value chain. “Cassava has no waste,” she explained. “It can be transformed into flour, starch, odorless fufu, gari, and many other high-value products. This plant can significantly reduce post-harvest losses, extend shelf life, and increase economic returns.”
She appealed for RMRDC’s collaboration and technical support to revive and optimize the facility’s operations, stressing that such partnership would unlock the full value chain potential of cassava and enhance local industrial growth.
The visit ended with optimism as both parties expressed commitment to exploring avenues for productive collaboration aimed at revamping the plant and strengthening cassava-based industrial development in Ebonyi State.
