By Abdullahi lukman
The Cross River State government has announced plans to distribute 1 million high-yielding Arabica and Robusta coffee seedlings to farmers at a subsidised rate of N1,000 per seedling.
The initiative, unveiled by the Commissioner for Agriculture and Irrigation Development, Mr. Johnson Ebokpo, aims to introduce coffee as a new economic crop alongside cocoa and wheat in the state.
Speaking at a newsbreak briefing in Calabar on Monday, Ebokpo revealed that the state has partnered with French coffee company JR Farms to develop and strengthen the local coffee value chain.
The program seeks to provide farmers with access to quality seedlings, create jobs, generate foreign exchange, and offer alternative income during the off-peak farming season.
To ensure fair distribution, the government developed an allocation model based on elevation, climate, and soil suitability across the 18 local government areas.
Arabica seedlings will be distributed in highland areas, while Robusta will be allocated to lowlands.
A team of 56 enumerators is being trained to profile and organise farmers into cooperatives through a door-to-door exercise scheduled from May 26 to June 9.
The commissioner called on political, religious, and civil society leaders to encourage farmers to participate in the profiling and take advantage of the subsidised seedlings.