Cross River Distributes Coffee Seedlings To 700 Farmers

Cross River State government has begun the distribution of subsidised coffee seedlings to over 700 farmers whose capacity has been built on coffee farming across the three senatorial districts.

The  state commissioner for Agriculture and Irrigation Development, Mr Johnson Ebokpo, said the distribution was in line with the ministry’s timetable which was drawn to ensure that farmers plant their seedlings on time and  meet up with the rains.

Ebokpo averred that the price  per seedling has been reduced from N1,000 to N300  to meet up with the economic realities of the times.

Ebokpo described the rollout as “another important milestone in the state coffee revolution journey” to make coffee a priority cash crop.

He linked the initiative to Governor Bassey Otu’s economic diversification agenda and urged the farmers to apply the skills they gained during the training.

“Coffee remains one of the cash crops in the world that can create wealth and turn around one’s fortune,” he said.

The commissioner said distribution began last year but was paused due to “prevailing meteorological conditions that became unfavourable for successful field establishment.”

To improve survival rates, the ministry will provide technical support and is working with the Cocoa Research Institute and IITA to provide support.

“The economics of production for coffee development,” a proposed Tree Crop Development Agency will adapt the programme for different agro-ecological zones.

Ebokpo called on local government chairmen, lawmakers and private investors to fund coffee estates and washing stations to create jobs and boost rural economies.