Governor Otu procures 3.5m seedlings of oil palm sprouted nuts to improve production
The Governor of Cross River State, Sen. Bassey Otu has procured 3.5 million palm seedlings from the Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research, under the Cross River State Oil Palm Development Initiative (CRODI). The effort is to improve cultivation of oil palm sprouted nuts as well as eventually boost oil palm production in the state.
This was disclosed in a press release signed by the Permanent Secretary, Ekpe Bassey stating that the move was to guarantee that farmers have access to sprouted palm nuts.
He said the State government has trained and deployed enumerators to the 18 Local Government Areas to profile interested farmers in the State who are ready to buy the sprouted nuts.
Interested participants in the profiling exercise billed to commence by Monday, 2nd to 11th September 2024, are to visit the LGA where their farm is located and meet with the HOLGA or Director of Agriculture to confirm the schedule for their respective communities/farm areas. The farmers are to submit themselves to any accessible enumerator and complete the online registration form with a valid means of identification, while also noting that profiling will be done in their respective communities for mapping of their farms.
Ekpe added that the list of profiled farmers will be published in the Local Government Councils and the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, indicating the allocated quantity of nuts and a designated government account for payment. Payments will be according to the allocated number at a subsidized rate of 100 Naira for each sprouted nut and 20 Naira per polybag.
Farmers were warned not to make any cash transactions to anyone during the process.
Beneficiaries were mandated to meet the following criteria which include having land for planting in any of the 18 LGAs of the State and committing to planting the sprouted nuts within Cross River State.
Also, beneficiaries were advised to commit to allowing field officers from the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation Development or sister agencies and partners to visit his or her nursery sites/ farms and access farm records, as successful beneficiaries will be clustered for technical support and easy monitoring of the nursery development.
Interested participants were advised to visit the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation Development or contact the Head of Administration or Director of Agric in the various Local Government Councils.
By: Archibong Emmanuel
(Snr. Reporter)
