Cross River Partners Research Institutes To Boost Food Production

Cross River State government has entered collaborative agreements with the Lake Chad Institute of Research and the Ahmadu Bello University Institute of Research to boost agricultural productivity in the state.

The partnership aims to provide improved seeds for crops such as maize, wheat, and cowpeas, among others, to promote food security.

Speaking on the issue in his office yesterday in Calabar, Governor Bassey Otu, during the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the state commissioner for agriculture and the representatives of the two institutions, stated that with the partnership, hunger and starvation would be a thing of the past.

He stressed that his administration is ready to subsidise factors of production to boost food production, stressing that this is why it carried out soil mapping to optimise crop cultivation.

He averred that government initiatives like Project GROW aim to provide farmers with access to finance and sustainable and profitable agricultural practices in the state.

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“We try to focus on agriculture in a sustainable way and manner and ensure that risk is reduced to the barest minimum. “We have completed the soil mapping to know the soil texture of each location and what crop will have better yield in each soil type to ensure maximum yield in crop cultivation.

“In the state, we have created the GROW project. One of the missing links has been access to finance for farmers and off-takers.

“We created the platform where we pay in N150m every month. We are trying to make sure all the value chains have access to funds to own the farms and increase their production.

“Our focus on commercial agriculture is very clear, and we cannot grow or buy seeds. It is in line with this that we are collaborating with you. You are tested and proven with results in other climes,” he said.

Earlier, the executive director of Lake Chad Research Institute, Alhaji Baba Kabir, stated that with the collaboration, crops like maize, cowpea, sorghum, groundnut, cotton, and sunflower will be abundant in the state before the partnership ends.