Governor Bassey Otu of Cross River State says his administration has secured a $15 million private sector investment for the Ayip Eku oil palm estate in Akamkpa Local Government Area of the state.
Otu said this when he spoke in Calabar at a press conference on Friday to mark his 100 days in office.
He said his administration plans to leverage the state’s comparative advantage in agriculture to provide necessary employment opportunities and also ensure food security.
The governor said in addition to investment in oil palm, the government had also developed a six-year agricultural guarantee fund of N30 billion for rice, maize, fisheries and livestock farmers.
He said that over the next year, 100 hectares of cassava would be cultivated, while the government had started planting 3.5 million hybrid oil palm seedlings at 13 locations across the state.
“To accurately determine the soil texture for specific crops in different areas of the state, the government has initiated digital mapping of soil fertility across the state.
“This is to ensure that everything we are doing translates into higher yields of different crops.”
The governor then said: “In the development of human capital related to agriculture, the state has sponsored its indigenes to participate in a conference on the cassava-bio value chain in Asaba-Delta for the subsequent establishment of a cassava biofuel factory in the state, as well as a workshop on the sustainable economy of oil palm,” he said.
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“Similarly, 50 beginning rice farmers received free rice seedlings, fertilizers and pesticides, while 30 beginning livestock farmers were helped with day-old chicks and feed.
“The objective is to take advantage of the multiplier effect of agriculture on employment and the growth of the state’s Gross Domestic Product,” he stated.
(YAYA)