The Cross River state government has inaugurated Project Grow, an agricultural initiative aimed at enhancing food production and addressing poverty in the state.
Commissioner for Agriculture and Irrigation Development, Mr. Johnson Ebokpo, stated that Project Grow is designed to achieve massive food production, tackle hunger and poverty, and improve the people’s living standard.
“We have had some agricultural schemes in the past that could not fully achieve their objectives, this project will fill the gaps left by such programmes. This is an initiative that seeks to eliminate fiscal waste, it also seeks to subsidize productivity.”
The project director, Mr. Dennis Ikpali, said that the project is well-thought-out and will be given adequate implementation.
He highlighted some of the project’s early successes, including the development of 12,000 hectares of land in Odukpani for farmers to commence production and digital soil mapping to enable climate-smart agriculture.
The project targets no fewer than 100,000 farmers and encourages collaboration among extension agents, industry experts, academia, and farmers to achieve this goal.
Farmers involved in rice, maize, cassava, animal fodder cultivation, and aquaculture are encouraged to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the project.