By: © JEA Media.
The Cross River State Commissioner for Crops and Irrigation Development, Hon. Johnson Ebokpo Jr. has resumed to work and met with the Management Team and staff, as he roll out his plans for the Ministry to be entirety agribusiness inclined and a major source of revenue generation for the State.
Hon. Ebokpo, commended His Excellency, Senator (Prince) Bassey Otu, for the bold step taken to unbundled the former Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, to pave way for specialisation and greatly explore the comparative advantages of the State in the agricultural sector, as a reform in the right direction and clearly showing the administration focus in making agriculture, the mainstay of the State’s economy with it’s value chains.
And on this note, “I want to challenge all staff to brace up for the actualisation of the governor’s mandate to develop the agro sector for revenue generation, employment and to provide food security.”
According to him, Cross River has comparative advantage in the area of livestock, fisheries and crops with over 20,000 square kilometers of arable land and a coastline that covers about 70% of the coastline in the Niger Delta.
“Under my leadership; I will focus on industrial crops such as, cocoa, rubbers, oil palm, citrus and commercial grains, and will work closely with our sister Ministry of Livestock, Aquaculture and Fisheries Development, in ensuring that interventions are sector specific in order to boost internally generated revenue (IGR), and keeping in touch with the Ministry core objectives of food security, support the livestock industry in the area of feed input supply.”
The Honourable Commissioner express hope that with the implementation of his programmes, the contribution of Agriculture to the State GDP would have greatly increased; leading to a situation where the businesses that have been created, will be able to largely fund some activities of the Ministry without sole dependence on the State’s budget.
“I want to assure Management and staff that, my reorganisation model in the Ministry will equally create incentives to motivate staffers to increase productivity; it will be a win, win situation for all,” he concluded.
In his speech, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mr. Ekpe Bassey, welcomed the Commissioner and assured him of the Staff readiness to implement the lofty initiatives and drive the people’s first mantra of Governor Bassey Otu in the agricultural sector.
He informed that some administrative adjustments will be made for effective service delivery.
Directors present at the meeting expressed their readiness to contribute their quotas to support and advance the Commissioner quest to bring the Ministry to speed in meeting with the 21st century agro model.
The Commissioner was accompanied on his first day at work by friends and well wishers who prayed God’s blessings and guidance to deliver on his assignment.
It would be recalled that at the Inauguration of the State Executive Council by Governor Bassey Otu, the defunct Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources was unbundled into two. The Ministries are: Ministry of Crops and Irrigation Development and Ministry of Livestock, Aquaculture and Fisheries Development.
© JEA Media.
