C’River clears 62,000 hectares for rice, others

The Cross River Government has cleared 62,000 hectares of land for cultivation of rice and other crops.

The state Gov. Bassey Otu made the disclosure at a dinner for journalists, on Thursday.

He also said that the government had awarded a contract for procurement of 108 units of three-wheel mini tractors for use by smallholder farmers across the state.

He said that the government would continue to encourage the farmers, who, he said, had been sustaining food production in the state.

Otu said that there was the need for the farmers to transit to mass production through mechanised agriculture.

He said that the government had re-mapped and re-classified state-owned land in its Southern Senatorial District for commercial agriculture.

According to him, 50,000 of the 62,000 hectares would be for audacious rice revolution which has been inaugurated at Ndok in Ogoja Local Government Area.

“The project is financed by a credit guarantee scheme whereby the state government will plough in N150 million monthly with direct engagement of farmer groups.

“At the minimum, the expected annual yield for the 50,000 hectares is about 300,000 tonnes of rice at six tonnes per hectare.

“This is food crops revolution, and the same initiative will be extended to cash crops such as cocoa and oil palm.

“The state government has accordingly inaugurated a committee for value chain policy and strategy development on cocoa, oil palm and coffee.

“We have also distributed solar-powered mini irrigation pumps, mini rice milling machines, grinding machines, livestock feed etc. to farmers across the state to enhance value addition,” he added.

Otu said that the government would, in the next few months, unveil other support packages for farmers in order to speed up food production.

“This is just a part of what Cross River State Green Economy is all about,” he said.

Otu said that the government was intentionally pursuing agriculture as the mainstay of state.

“The comparative advantage the state has over other states of the nation in terms arable land and climate, makes agriculture the best foot forward in combating hunger and ensuring food security,” he said.

NEWSVERGE reports that the dinner was part of activities to celebrate the governor’s one year in office.