The governor of Cross River State, Bassey Otu, has created a credit scheme, where his administration will be giving out N150 million every month to promote agricultural development, saying the scheme is independent from the government bureaucracy. He also said a credit-guarantee scheme had been established to facilitate financial assistance for dedicated farmers. The governor announced this when he inaugurated a 50,000-hectare rice farming initiative in the Ndok community, Ogoja Local Government Area of the state.
He said the scheme was a direct collaboration with rice farmers, where they would cultivate the extensive 50,000 hectares and that the collaboration had been extended to oil palm and rubber plantations. “We are engaging with groups of farmers as part of our agricultural revolution, focusing initially on short-term cash crops like rice, cocoa and cassava. We are also progressing towards the development of oil palm and rubber plantations”, he stated. Acknowledging the critical importance of food and energy security, the governor assured farmers of the state government’s full support, noting that we are committed to working along with every farmer and ensuring the provision of essential resources. I extend this assurance to the traditional leaders. I emphasise our long-term commitment to this course”, he disclosed.
Otu encouraged individuals to seize the opportunity to enhance productivity, emphasising the need for proactive engagement in agriculture. He called on individuals to take action, rather than passively waiting for sustenance for there are abundant resources bestowed upon the state by divine providence, adding that there was the need for industrious efforts. Earlier, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Irrigation in the state, Johnson Ebekpo (Jnr) gave the state government’s strategic approach to agricultural development in terms of clear policies to attract private sector investments, and further outlined the government’s commitment at making agriculture the mainstay of the economy.
“Significant investments have been made in acquiring new tractors to enhance mechanisation efforts. The tractors, being distributed across the local government areas in Cross River State, will be managed by cooperatives, comprising men and women. The initiative aims to empower the youth, while supporting smallholder farmers in scaling up their operations”, Ebekpo said. In a related development, irrigation farmers in Katsina State have made unprecedented revenues from cabbage production due to its high market demand in the state and beyond. Many of the farmers did not envision the prospect of the crop, but they just planted it to mitigate the high cost of production associated with tomato, Irish potato, onion or wheat.
Farmer Abdullahi Garba said that for the past five years, he had produced only tomato in two local government areas, but this year, he chose to cut cost by producing cabbage. Garba further said the best a farmer could sell a bag of cabbage last year was N6,000, but this year, he sold the same bag at N12,000. “The crop requires watering at an interval of seven days, with a period of 90 days. Unlike tomato that needs numerous application of pesticides, cabbage needs pesticides and fertilizer at least two times. In one farm alone, I harvested cabbage of over N10 million at an average rate of N11,000 per bag”, he said. Another farmer, Abashe Muntari, said the high market demand of cabbage this year was occasioned by galloping inflation in the country, most especially food items.
“The high cost of food items has made cabbage to be part of menu in many households, not only for its nutritional value but the complimentary role it plays in many dishes”, Muntari said. The farmer added that a ball of cabbage cost between N200 and N700, depending on size, but it was between N100 and N300 last year. “A bag was between N3,000 and N6,000 last year, yet farmers were still making profit. Now, inflation has affected almost everything, including the vegetable; hence it is now N12,000 and above”, he added. Another farmer, Mohammed Bello revealed that considering how irrigation farmers were struggling with the cost of production of various crops, there would be a tendency for farmers to plant cabbage in large quantities next year.
“We are always strategising to minimise cost; and if there is no significant improvement in the economy, particularly the cost of fuel and inputs, many of us will plant cabbage. Onion and potato have high market value, but they require huge capital to invest”, noting that cabbage had low cost of production and if well managed, it would give high yield and revenue; but concentration of its production by many farmers might lead to shortage of other produce in the markets.
Meanwhile, the Bauchi State government has said that it would ensure an all-around success of the African Development Bank-backed Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone located in the state. The state Commissioner of Agriculture, Prof. Simon Madugu Yalams stated that the administration would continue to give necessary support to ensure the success of the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone (SAPZ) programme. Speaking at a workshop on the social environmental impact assessment for Stakeholders’ Scoping on the Proposed Bauchi State SAPZ Phase II, the commissioner said that the state was determined to expand its economy through the agribusiness value chain.
Madugu, who was represented by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Agriculture, Dr. Iliyasu Gital, he informed that Bauchi State was privileged to have been selected as one of the states for the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone, saying that the project would give room for structural transformation in agriculture. On his part, the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Alhaji Ibrahim Isa said the present administration would continue to develop farm products including cassava, sesame, soyabean, rice, cassava, potatoes, sweet potatoes, maize, in line with the advice by the African Development Bank (AfDB) to facilitate the expansion of the state’s economy, saying that based on the performance of the SAPZ and quality of the proposed project, other banks such as the Arab Development Bank and International Bank for Agricultural Development are interested in funding the project.
