The Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation Development, in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Project and SOLIDARIDAD, has trained enumerators to profile oil palm farmers in Cross River State. During the official launch of the training workshop on Thursday, August 29, 2024, in Calabar, the State’s Commissioner for Agriculture and Irrigation, Johnson Ebokpo, highlighted that the initiative aligns with the Oil Palm revolution agenda of Governor Senator Bassey Otu.
The project targets both prospective and current oil palm farmers in the state. To qualify, farmers must have land available for planting, reside in one of the state’s 18 local government areas, and be registered under the supplementary farmer profiling exercise conducted by SOLIDARIDAD and FAO from September 1 to 10, 2024.
He stated that the oil palm seedlings procured by the state government will be distributed to the appropriate beneficiaries, specifically existing oil palm farmers, to aid in the development of the agricultural sector. He urged the enumerators to ensure accurate profiling of oil palm farmers in the various communities to facilitate the fair and effective distribution of the seedlings across the state.
“I extend my gratitude to our Governor, Senator Bassey Otu, whose leadership and initiatives have ushered in a new era for Cross River, particularly in the agricultural sector,” he remarked.
Ogochukwu Akunna, the Programme Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation Learning Officer of Solidaridad, explained that the profiling exercise of oil palm farmers in the state’s 18 Local Government Areas is designed to help the government build a comprehensive database of these farmers. This will also enable the government and project facilitators to better inform them of upcoming intervention plans.
Cletus Ogbidi, the State Project Coordinator for the FAO GEF 7 Folur IP Program, praised the Cross River State government and the project facilitators. He emphasized that the profiling of oil palm farmers is crucial to upholding Governor Bassey Otu’s people-first agenda and for the broader development of the state’s agricultural sector.
One of the enumerators, Mary Benjamin from Akampa LGA, expressed excitement for the state government’s initiative under the Ministry of Agriculture, and other facilitators for kickstarting the project at the right time where farmers need interventions to expand their farms and produce.
“The task as an oil palm farmer is very stressful, especially from the plantation establishment, and processing cost of machinery is cost-effective. This intervention by the government is coming at the right time when we are faced with unemployment and hunger”, she added.
Also, one of the participants Agara Victor from Ikom LGA said that the exercise would enlighten and enable farmers in the state to benefit from the support initiatives of the government and it will help grow their agricultural practice.
