By Magnus Effiong
The government of Cross River State has kick-started a robust plan to boost its economy with 30 million coffee seedlings to smallholders farmers
Commissioner for Agricultural Development and Irrigation, Johnson Ebokpo, who disclosed this in Calabar, said the initiative would cover about 27,000 hectares of farmland across the state.
He said the seedlings were being distributed to smallholder farmers under a seven year strategic plan covering 2024 to 2032, and that one million seedlings have already be given out.
He said Governor Bassey Otu was bent on diversifying the state’s economy beyond cocoa which, he said, has remained Cross River’s dominant export crop for decades.
“We conducted a situational analysis to determine how best to diversify the state’s income base and improve the livelihoods of our people.
“We discovered that while cocoa has served us well, relying on a single export commodity exposes farmers to fluctuations in international prices. Coffee presents another opportunity to build wealth and strengthen our economy.
“There is a need to diversify into coffee development because of its relatively short gestation period compared to other tree crops,” the Commissioner said, and noted that Tree Crop Development Agency has been established to manage the program, and that the ministry has already completed farmers’ enumeration.
Also speaking, National President of the National Coffee and Tea Association of Nigeria, Dr Hassan Usman, commended Governor Otu for the initiative and noted that feasibility studies conducted by the association revealed that Cross River possesses suitable conditions for commercial coffee and tea production.
In her remarks, Blessing Nanman, the Chief Executive Officer of Lingzhi Global, the development partner for the project, said five million coffee seedlings have already been raised for the first phase of the project.
