RETOOLING THE ECONOMY THROUGH AGRICULTURE
Bassey Otu is committed to making the most of the agro potential of Cross River State, writes Linus Obogo
Less than a year into his first term, Governor Bassey Otu is firmly but confidently steering the ship of Cross River State to the coast of economic reawakening as could be gleaned from his recent inauguration of a multi-stakeholders committee to explore ways and means of bolstering palm oil, cocoa and coffee value chain in the state.
In optimizing Cross River’s agro potential, Governor Otu is living up to what his aggregate experience as a shrewd business administrator, banker and parliamentarian conferred on him. With its enormous size, Cross River State is South South’s bastion of huge, diverse agro production.
For example, the Northern and Central Cross River State are huge cocoa belts and the crop is massively produced there in commercial quantity. In fact, after Ondo State, Cross River State comes next in cocoa production.
Similarly, the Southern and some parts of the Central area of the state produce palm oil in export proportion, thereby making Cross River State the second largest oil palm producer in Nigeria after Edo State.
With a robust roadmap for the re-engineering of Cross River State in his kitty, the state governor, Senator Bassey Otu is leaving no one in doubt about his determination to walk the state through the corridors of economic greatness by broadening the frontiers of the state’s economy.
This was exactly the import of the governor’s timely recognition of the cocoa, coffee and palm oil value chain as a treasure trough and an unmined gold the state is sitting on.
Economic experts are of the view that if and when properly harnessed, Cross River State’s cocoa, palm oil and coffee, whether traded within Nigeria or exported abroad could attract handsome revenue to the state, big enough to surpass its average monthly federal allocation and consequently leapfrog the state into an economic Eldorado.
For example, palm oil and all the by-products of palm seeds and palm trees such as palm kernel oil, palm kernel cake, palm kernel shell, empty fruit bunches, mesocarp fibres, and brooms among others, according to a recent disclosure by the National Palm Produce Association of Nigeria, was capable of contributing $20billion annually to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
What this means for the state is that as the second-highest grower of palm seeds and producer of palm oil in Nigeria, the Cross River is indeed sitting on a gold mine.
From the foregoing, it is obvious that the Otu-led administration’s well-thought-out plan to bolster palm oil, cocoa and coffee production in the state speaks to the enthralling trinity of economic growth, prosperity and progress which underpin the governor’s People First agenda and policy of his administration.
To maximize the huge economic accruements from cocoa and palm oil productions, Governor Otu has set the machinery in motion for the establishment of six new cocoa estates in the state which must be in line with climate and biodiversity considerations.
In affirming agriculture as Cross River State’s hope for economic revival the governor has disclosed his administration’s earmarking of 3.5 million oil palm seedlings for planting this year. This is in addition to launching the transparent and digitally managed N30billion commercial agric development fund, called Project Grow.
“Cocoa, coffee and palm oil are crops in which Cross River State enjoys unchallenged comparative advantage in the country. And determined to derive maximum return on our advantage, we have, after careful consideration, come up with this model of having key stakeholders to achieve our dream in an organized and cooperative manner”, Governor Otu had told the committee headed by Professor Susan Ohen and whose terms of reference include a seven-year strategic master plan that outlines strategies that enhance cocoa, coffee and oil palm cultivation, productivity and quality; to design value chain policies for cocoa and oil production in a such a manner that it encourages direct investment, support farmers and address market dynamics.”
There is no doubt that Governor Otu’s intervention on the side of boosting cocoa and palm oil production in Cross River will address the concerns of stakeholders like Dr. Edemdem Ayito who owns New Palm Oil Processing Factory, a 10-tonnes per day palm oil facility located in Kasuk Qua, Calabar. Dr Ayito had lamented sometime ago that “we have a lot of Palm oil in Cross River but there is no value addition.”
In the words of Peter Strople, “Legacy is not only leaving something for people, it’s leaving something in people”. Keen followers of Otu’s people-oriented government are confident that as he strides along with energy and purpose in the socio-economic and infrastructural retooling of Cross River, he will, at the end of his tour of duty in 2031, leave an indelible legacy of good governance in the hearts of the people and life-changing achievements which history will record in his favour.
And if to give validity to Governor Otu’s agro-economy vision, some high-net worth financial institutions are already seeking collaboration with the state government in the area of agriculture.
For instance, just recently, the Chairman, as well as the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Fidelity Bank Plc, Mr. Mustapha Chike-Obi, Dr. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe respectively, along with other directors of the bank had made a high profile visit to Governor Otu, seeking to forge a partnership in agriculture.
The visit of Fidelity Bank which came barely two days following the inauguration of Prof. Susan Ohen’s Committee was no doubt, an indication that the bank had carefully cracked through the governor’s vision.
And by deliberately seeking to forge alliance with the governor’s developmental roadmap in agriculture, Fidelity Bank is confident that Otu is putting in place an investment plan and a behavioral discipline that are sure to get Cross River State where it should be headed.
.Obogo is Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to Governor Otu of Cross River State
