The Cross River Government has entered a partnership agreement with the Lake Chad Institute of Research and the Ahmadu Bello University Institute of Research to boost agriculture.
The partnership is aimed at providing improved maize, wheat and cowpea seeds to boost productivity.
Speaking at a brief ceremony to sign the pact, Gov. Bassey Otu, reiterated the importance of agriculture to the economy of the state and the livelihood of the people.
Otu said that the state government was committed to subsidising factors of production within the agriculture sub-sector.
He said that already, the state government had conducted soil mapping to determine soil textures in various locations, and to optimize crop cultivation.
“The essence is to determine the crops that will yield better in particular soil textures,” he said.
The governor said that his administration was implementing policies aimed at ensuring massive food production in the state.
“Our Project GROW initiative is aimed at enabling farmers to access finance in order to embark on sustainable and profitable agriculture.
“Our focus on agriculture is to promote low risk and to enthrone productivity and sustainability,” he said.
Speaking earlier, Alhaji Baba-Gana Kabir, the Executive Director, Lake Chad Research Institute, said that the state was making history in agriculture within the Southern region of the country.
Kabir said that the partnership with Cross River would be of immense benefit to the state.
He said that the institute had a proven record of integrity in crop research in the country, especially in the northern region.
“One of our core mandates is the genetic improvement of crops such as maize, cowpea, sorghum, groundnut, cotton, sunflower among others.
“We are also involved in the genetic improvement of medicinal crops. We have varieties that can do very well in almost all ecologies,” he said.
The executive director said that Nigerians should prioritise agriculture in the interest of food production and economic recovery.
Also speaking, Mr Johnson Ebokpo, the Cross River Commissioner for Agriculture and Irrigation, expressed the state government’s commitment to its part of the pact.
He said that the partnership was dear to the heart of the state, and that the Otu-led government would fulfill its part in the interest of the people.
