The Cross River State Government has commenced the distribution of 20,000 bags of fertilizer to 8,000 smallholder farmers across the state, in a move aimed at improving farm productivity, reducing input costs and strengthening food security.
The distribution is being undertaken under the Farm Input Support Programme (FISP), an intervention of the National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF), which provides agricultural inputs to farmers to enhance production across various value chains.
Flagging off the exercise in Calabar on Thursday, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Irrigation Development, Hon. Johnson Andiambey Ebokpo, said the initiative had moved from policy commitment to direct support for farmers following the South-South zonal flag-off of the programme earlier in June.
Ebokpo said the state government was determined to ensure that the inputs reached verified beneficiaries through a transparent and orderly distribution process.
“We are gathered not merely to mark the commencement of distribution, but to ensure that this important agricultural input gets to the farmers for whom it is intended in an orderly, transparent, and efficient manner,” he said.
The Commissioner explained that the state had followed the prescribed guidelines in identifying and registering beneficiary farmers, noting that the restructuring of farmer organisations was intended to improve coordination and make agricultural interventions more effective.
He said the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) had been recognised as the apex farmers’ body in the state, alongside the revival of commodity associations to facilitate efficient delivery of agricultural inputs across the 18 local government areas.
Ebokpo also disclosed that an additional 4,000 bags of NPK 15-15-15 fertilizer, each weighing 25 kilogrammes, donated by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), would be incorporated into the distribution exercise.
He commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for supporting agricultural transformation under the Renewed Hope Agenda, stressing that the intervention was consistent with Governor Bassey Edet Otu’s People First Agenda, which places agriculture at the centre of job creation, economic development and food security.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Dr. Odey Ikongah, described the distribution as a practical demonstration of the government’s commitment to translating agricultural plans and promises into tangible support for farmers.
Also speaking, the Team Lead of the National Agricultural Development Fund, Lekan Alabi, said the impact of the current intervention would determine the possibility of further support for Cross River farmers.
“The importance is that we are looking forward to food security and sustainability. The success of this also determines the next phase,” Alabi said, assuring that positive results would strengthen the case for returning with additional interventions.
The State Coordinator of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Mrs. Sampson George, allayed concerns over the availability of the inputs, assuring farmers that the fertilizer allocated to the state remained intact and secured for verified beneficiaries.
She urged the beneficiaries to apply the inputs strictly for agricultural production, stressing that responsible utilisation would strengthen their prospects of benefiting from subsequent phases of the programme.
The Chairman of AFAN in Cross River, Rev. Ojikpong Bisong, expressed appreciation to the Federal Government, Governor Otu and the Commissioner for Agriculture for the intervention, describing its scale as significant and pledging that farmers would put the inputs to productive use.
For the beneficiaries, the Secretary of the National Sesame Seed Farmers Association of Nigeria, Cross River Chapter, Chief Felix Edoki, expressed optimism that the intervention would translate into improved yields and a bumper harvest across the state.
Similarly, the AFAN Women Leader, Miss Vivian Efanga, pledged that female farmers would use the fertilizer for its intended purpose, assuring that the farmers’ association would monitor its utilisation.
“We will put it to use and we are not going to sell it. AFAN is going to do a lot of monitoring in Cross River State,” Efanga said.
By Blessing Enagu
