President Ali orders agri commercialisation plan for Paramakatoi-Kato, quarry to be handed over to community after five years
President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali has directed the Ministry of Agriculture to move swiftly to commercialise high-value crops in the Paramakatoi-Kato corridor, as improved hinterland infrastructure opens new economic opportunities for Region Eight.
Speaking on Monday at the commissioning of the upgraded Paramakatoi Airstrip, the President said enhanced road connectivity between Regions Eight and Nine has made large-scale agricultural production increasingly viable.
“Now that we have the interconnectivity among our road network, we can now travel from Kato to Paramakatoi, an important road link. The integration of Region Nine and Eight, the potential of growing carrots and onions in Paramakatoi is real,” President Ali said.
He noted that the focus must now shift from subsistence to commercial agriculture, with value-added production taking place within the region itself.
“We must now move to a commercial project between Kato and Paramakatoi. The potential is even there for potato with the technology of solar freezers and containerized solar cold storage, we can now have value creation on this product right here that reduces the cost of transport and increase the shelf life,” he stated.
President Ali said he has issued a clear timeline for action, stressing that infrastructure development must translate directly into livelihoods and income, particularly for women and young people.
“That is why, in Kato and Paramakatoi, within the next three months, the Ministry of Agriculture must bring in the specialist and come up with a full fledged plan to commercialize these high value crops that we’re going to support here in this region, involving young people and women, because the infrastructure that we’re building must lead to the economic expansion and the creation of new opportunities,” the Head of State said.
In addition to agriculture, President Ali highlighted quiet but significant gains made through hinterland road construction, particularly in skills training and employment.
“It went by very quietly, but because of the model we developed in building the roads in the hinterland, we have trained almost 2000 persons in the hinterland communities across this country in construction. And last year, for most of last year, we’ve able to employ almost 1500 persons in a permanent basis building roads across this region,” he said.
The President also disclosed details of a major quarry investment, adding that a formal agreement has been signed to ensure skills transfer and eventual handover to residents.
“And a contractor building here would have invested about 2 million US dollars in a quarry. That’s $400 million from what I’m told. And I’m pleased to say that the contractor has entered into an agreement that for the next five years, or for five years, he will manage the quarry with the people, training the people in the management and operations of the quarry, and in five years, the quarry will be handed over to the people of this area,” the President said.
