The Cross River State government has initiated schemes that will engage about 100,000 youths in farming and other agricultural ventures.
The state government also commenced the process of equipping young people with skills that will assist them to break even in agriculture and other ventures in the value chain.
The State’s Commissioner for Agriculture and Irrigation, Mr. Johnson Ebokpo Jr., who conducted the flag-off ceremony Friday in Calabar, stated that with the skills, youths of the state can become self-reliant rather than roam the streets in search of white-collar jobs that may hardly exist.
Addressing extension officers and other stakeholders in the agriculture value chain workshop, Ebokpo stated that the scheme would navigate the state out of what he termed as multi-dimensional poverty.
Ebokpo, who gave the name of the scheme as Project Grow, averred that the scheme had been on the drawing board before the coming of the present administration in the state, stressing that its focus was to boost food production and raise the income of farmers.
“Through synergy with multilateral agencies, the Project Grow would leapfrog the state into the next level and establish and agro-econiny which thousands of people would be lifted out of multidimensional poverty,” he stated.
The commissioner stressed that in the past 30 years, the state had not been able to add 10% increase to the total output of food produced in the state despite its vast arable land, several agricultural schemes and the huge sums of money invested in those programmes
“We are adopting the Michael Okpara model in our agricultural projects to maximise food production, eliminate wastes and put the state on the map of prosperity and Project Grow will achieve that purpose,” he added.
He stressed that the project would position the state to be one of the largest producers of sorghum, maize, cattle fodder, and rice.
“With the target of 20,000 hectres of land prepared for small holder farmers and 2,000 already started and the right ecology in place for the production of five value chain which include rice, cassava, aquatic culture, cattle fodder and maize, our governor, Senator Bassey Otu, is creating an economy that would produce billionaires and millionaire.”
In his remarks, Project Grow Director, Mr. Denis Ikpali, stated that the scheme will address challenges in the agriculture sector.
He enumerated the problems troubling the agric sector to include farmers’ inability to access loans from financial institutions, get right inputs, and acquire adequate knowledge on chemical application on farms.
“The risks involved in agricultural sector make banks unwilling to extend credit facility to farmers without collaterals. Project Grow is to close that gap because our state government has a credit scheme to the tone of 30 billion naira to guarantee genuine farmers to get loans. The credit is not a grant,” he added.
