Udu, Chukwu E/ Okporia Chima/ Uwakwe, C.
Ebonyi State was created on 1st October 1996, with thirteen local government areas and Abakaliki as the state capital. The State is situated in the South East Geopolitical Zone of Nigeria and has vast arable land and a conducive environment for agricultural activities across its local government areas. The economy of the State is dependent on farming activities, crop production, and animal rearing, majorly, common goats, sheep, native cows (Muturu cattle), pig, and poultry. Rice milling is a leading private investment, in which people engage at micro and small enterprises levels in the State.
In 2008, The Ebonyi State Government established a quarry cluster at Umuoghara in Ezza North Local Government Area to facilitate and promote investments in granite crushing. There are also privately-owned quarry companies that engage in crushing lumps of granite into aggregates of various sizes, which the common aggregates are 1 inch, ½ inch, 3/4 inch, 3/8 inch, and dust, mainly for construction uses. The State is endowed with mineral raw materials resources, potentials yet untapped, among which are limestone, granites, lead/zinc ore, salt, sea sand, and other rock formations.
Ebonyi State is known for growing variety of crops, such as rice, cassava, okra, sesame, groundnuts, sweet potatoes, maize, and cocoyam. Tree crops include oil palm, mangoes, local pea, coconut and orange.
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The table below shows local government areas (LGAs) in Ebonyi State, with available agricultural and mineral raw materials on a community/location basis.
Raw Materials on Local Government Area/ Community Basis
|
S/N |
LGAs 
|
AGRO RAW MATERIALS |
MINERAL RAW MATERIALS |
|
1 |
Abakaliki |
yam, pea, sesame, and cocoyam in most communities |
Salt in brine underground at Enyigba Lead-ore (Galena), with zinc at Enyigba |
|
2 |
Afikpo |
cassava and yam in all communities rice, oil Palm at Amasiri , Unwana. Mango at Amasiri and Ozizza India bamboo at Amasiri |
Granite at Amasiri, Akpoha, Ibii, Oziza Sea sand at Afikpo, Unwana, Ozizza, Akpoha Clay at Ozizza
|
|
3 |
Ebonyi |
Yam, cassava, sweet potato, and coco yam in most communities rice at Akpaku Nkaliki |
Lead-ore (Galena) at Mkpuma Akpatakpa, Mkpuma Ekok Limestone at Ishieke, Odomuke |
|
4 |
Edda (former Afikpo South) |
oil Palm in all communities rice at most communities raffia palm at Ogbu and Akpuguru cassava and yam at all communities |
Kaolin, clay at Ameri Ekoli, Ogwuma, Nguzu, Ebunwana Gypsum and phosphate at Asaga, Amangwu |
|
5 |
Ezza North |
Yam, cassava, sweet potato, maize, cocoyam, groundnut, pea at most |
Marble stone at Umuogara |
|
|
|
communities bitter leaf, scent leaf, bush mango at Oshiegbe, Umuezeokaoha |
|
|
6 |
Ezza South |
yam, cassava, sweet potato, maize, cocoyam, groundnut, pea at most communities groundnut, rice, bitter leaf, scent leaf, bush mango at some communities |
Lead-ore (Galena), with zinc at Ameka Salt in brine underground at Ameka, Ameri |
|
7 |
Ikwo |
rice, cassava, sweet potato, maize, cocoyam, groundnut in most communities plantain, and orange in some communities |
Lead-ore (Galena), with zinc at Ndiagu Amagu Sea sand at Okposi, Uburu
|
|
8 |
Ishielu |
yam, cassava, rice, pepper at most communities oil palm at Agba, Ntezi, Ezilo, groundnut, coconut at Ezillo cocoyam at Azuinyaba |
Limestone at Nkalagu, Nkalaha, Azuinyaba Gypsum at Okpoto |
|
9 |
Ivo |
Yam, cassava, cocoyam, rice, vegetable, okro, oil palm, mango, cucumber, maize, and pear at Akaeze and Ishiagu Groundnut, Cashew, raffia palm, Indian bamboo at Akaeze |
Marble stone, Granite, Lead-ore (Galena), with zinc Clay at Isiagu Sea sand at Akaeze
|
|
10 |
Izzi |
yam, cassava, sweet potato, cocoyam, cocoyam, pepper, sesame, pigeon pea, rice, oil palm at most communities |
Granite at most communities Lead-ore (Galena), with zinc |
|
11 |
Ohaozara |
cassava, yam, pumpkin, orange, cocoyam, and mango at most communities |
Sea sand at Okposi, Uburu Salt in brine as lakes at Okposi and Uburu respectively Clay at Okposi |
|
12 |
Ohaukwu |
yam, cassava, pepper at all communities oil palm, banana, bush mango, mango, orange at Effium |
Granite, Limestone at Ezzamgbo, Ngbo, Effium
|
|
13 |
Onicha |
Yam, cassava at all communities orange, mango, rice, coconut, pea, bush mango in some communities, particularly Abaomege |
Sea sand at Abaomege, Okuzu, Ukawu Lead-ore (Galena) at Onicha |
Efforts in promoting investments in raw materials
Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Ebonyi State Coordinating Office has carried out activities in Ebonyi State to stimulate investment opportunities in raw materials production, processing, and utilization in both agricultural and mineral sectors. The activities include Sensitization and capacity-building workshops in critical areas of investment opportunities in the raw materials value chain and visits to raw materials processing industries for needs assessment and industrial extension services. The RMRDC has through the Ebonyi Coordinating Office supplied improved varieties of crops to local farmers in the State under its agricultural raw materials boosting programme as part of its efforts in promoting the production of agricultural raw materials resources in Nigeria. They include high-quality Okra seeds in July 2021 for a follow-up sensitization workshop on the okra value chain at Ivo LGC Secretariat, Sesame seeds in 2022, and oil palm seedlings in June 2023. The Office also played a facilitator’s role to collaborating agencies in workshops, investors fora, and stakeholder engagement meetings to sensitize local farmers in Ebonyi State on raw materials value-Chain and product development, among which are cassava, potato, bee products, oil palm and sesame. These projects are designed to stimulate grassroots in entrepreneurship development, and drive and promote investments in micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Ebonyi State.
Prospects and Required Interventions
The fertile landmass provides great opportunities for investments in agricultural raw materials value-chain in Ebonyi State. The available raw materials in Ebonyi State provide myriad investment opportunities, which have great and vast potential for industrial development and job creation through SMEs but are yet to be exploited to boost agro-based enterprises in the State. The various investment opportunities in these raw materials that can be exploited for SMEs include rice milling and packaging, garri processing and packaging, oil palm milling, smokeless briquettes, confectionery, cosmetics, bakeries, starch making, flour making, soap and detergent making, tile making, fruit juice production, animal feed production, paint manufacturing, granite cutting, pottery, salt processing, just to mention these very few. These enterprises are viable agents for market force drive and job creation because SMEs serve as complementary enterprises for utilizing available local raw materials for a well-balanced economy, devoid of wastes.
However, though farmers in Ebonyi State produce a lot of food crops, which also serve as agro-based raw materials, most of the raw materials go to waste because of a lack of proper processing, preservation, and storage facilities. Provision of these facilities at the local level in the State will enhance agro-raw materials preservation, storage, and conversation for value-addition, both as food and industrial raw materials. Ebonyi State is blessed with abundant mineral raw materials in the solid mineral sector, yet there is no test laboratory to facilitate mineral research and analysis for industrial specifications.
