Cross river distributes oil palm seedlings to farmers

ross River State government last weekend
distributed over 40,000 oil palm seedlings to
farmers in the state, in collaboration with the
federal ministry of agriculture.
The beneficiaries are Nsan Oil Palm site in
Akamkpa Local Government and Igoli in Ogoja
Local Government areas. Performing the flag-off
ceremony, James Aniyom, the state
commissioner for agriculture, said the oil palm
transformation value chain was one of the several
value chains being supported by the Federal
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in
pursuance of the Federal Government Agricultural
Transformation Agenda.
According to Aniyom, the objective of the
programme is to increase vegetable oil
production through increase of oil palm
production and processing in order to achieve
import substitution and cancel deficit of
300,00mt, which was annually met through
import.
Under GES allocation, registered oil palm growers
are entitled to 50 oil palm seedlings, which will be
given to them free. He said other inputs like 1½
bags of NPK 12: 12;17 fertiliser; ¼ bundle of wire
collar and 2 litres of touch-down herbicide have
been subsidised at 50 percent rate by both the
federal and state government.
The programme also will create employment
opportunities for youth, women and reduce
poverty to the barest minimum as well as arouse
greater interest and concern for engagement in
the competitive market, he said.
Akinwunni Adesina, minister of agriculture,
represented by Asibopong Bassey, Cross River
State director, federal ministry of agriculture, said
Nigeria produces about 1.3mt of oil palm and
imports 300,000mt annually, amounting to $500
million in foreign exchange. It is because of this
gap that the Federal Government under the oil
palm value chain of Agricultural Transformation
Agenda (ATA) wants to bridge it, she said.
To her, the vision of the Federal Government is a
hunger free nation, generate employment and
transform the country from being an importer of
food items to exporter of agricultural products in
the shortest possible time and to transform the
sector into a business driven.
Earlier, the chairman of oil palm growers
association, Cross River State, Owali Ilem, said
the Federal Government should therefore show
commitments to the agricultural sector by
complying with AU Maputo declaration and
experts advice to developing nations by allocating
10 percent of its annual budget to sgriculture.
Ilem said only Ghana, Mali, Burkina Faso, Senegal
and a few others, have complied with the
declaration, noting that the highest allocation
within the period was 7.4 percent, while last year
it was just 3 percent and in 2013 it became 1.6
percent, while ot