Cross River supports oil palm farmers
The Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation Development in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organisation Project and SOLIDARIDAD have trained enumerators for profiling oil palm farmers in Cross River State.
The Commissioner for Agriculture and Irrigation of the State, Johnson Ebokpo, while addressing the enumerators during the official unveiling of the training workshop held on Thursday August 29, 2024 in Calabar said that the programme is in line with the Oil Palm revolution agenda of the Governor of the state Sen. Bassey Otu.
The project is for intending and existing oil palm farmers in the state.
The criteria include that the Farmer must have land for planting, be resident in one of the 18 LGs and must be captured under the supplementary farmer profiling exercise to be carried out by solidaridad and FAO from September 1 to 10, 2024.
He said that the oil palm seedlings procured by the state government is to be given to the appropriate beneficiaries whom he described as existing oil palm farmers to help develop the agricultural sector.
He called on the enumerators to take proper profiling of the oil palm farmers in the various communities to enhance proper and equal distribution of the seedlings to the farmers in the state.
“I thank our Governor, Sen. Bassey Otu whose leadership charisma and initiatives of his administration have given Cross River a new phase, especially in the agricultural sector,” he disclosed.
The Programme Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation Learning officer of Solidaridad; Ogochukwu Akunna said the exercise on profiling oil Palm farmers in the 18 Local Governments of the state is a platform to help the government build the database of oil Palm farmers in the state and further inform them of the intervention plans by the state government and facilitators.
The State Project Coordinator, FAO GEF 7 Folur IP Program; Cletus Ogbidi in his remarks, commended the Cross River state government, and facilitators of the project.
He noted that the profiling of the oil palm farmers in the state is carried out to sustain the people’s first agenda of the governor Bassey Otu and the overall development of the agricultural sector in the state.
One of the enumerators, Mary Benjamin from Akampa LGA, expressed excitement for the state government’s initiative under the Ministry of Agriculture, and other facilitators for kickstarting the project at the right time where farmers need interventions to expand their farms and produce.
“The task as an oil palm farmer is very stressful, especially from the plantation establishment, and processing cost of machinery is cost-effective. This intervention by the government is coming at the right time when we are faced with unemployment and hunger”, she added.
Also, one of the participants Agara Victor from Ikom LGA said that the exercise would enlighten and enable farmers in the state to benefit from the support initiatives of the government and it will help grow their agricultural practice.
