Cross River State government in collaboration
with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture has commenced the distribution of over
40,000 oil palm seedlings to farmers in Nsan Oil Palm site in Akamkpa Local
Government and Igoli in Ogoja Local Government areas in the state.
The State Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr
James Aniyom, said the oil palm transformation value chain was being supported
by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in pursuance of
the Federal Government Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA)
Aniyom informed NaijaAgroNet that 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.
It will be recalled that under GES allocation,
registered oil palm growers are entitled to 50 oil palm seedlings, which will
be given to them free while 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 Minister of Agriculture and Rural
Development, Mr Akinwunni Adesina, represented by Cross
River State Director, Federal Ministry Of Agriculture, Asibopong Bassey, said
Nigeria produces about 1.3mt of oil palm and imports 300,000mt annually,
amounting to $500 million in foreign exchange which the federal government has
set out to bridge through ATA.
In his remark, the chairman of oil palm
growers association, Cross River State, Owali Ilem, advised the Federal
Government to show commitments to the agricultural sector by complying with AU
Maputo declaration by allocating 10 percent of its annual budget to
agriculture.
NaijaAgroNet
... Linking agrobiz, people & technology
pix: Cross River State Gov. Liyel Imoke
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