By Ovat Lawrence.

Cross River State Government has commissioned a pilot demonstration farm for improved varieties of rice, maize, cowpea, sorghum, nappier grass, and other forage crops in order to ascertain their viability within the state ecosystem for full scale commercial farming.

 

The farm which was established by an agricultural consortium- Bella Van Bas Company along Bypass road Calabar, using the Cambodia technology, is an initiative of His Excellency, Senator Prince Bassey Edet Otu towards ensuring a food and feed secured State.

 

Commissioning the Demonstration farm, the Cross River State Commissioner for Agriculture and Irrigation Development, Hon. Johnson Andiambey Ebokpo KSM expressed satisfaction at the result of the pilot test which proves that Cross River can cultivate selected crops which were perceived to be ecologically unfriendly with little or zero rate of survival in the State and the country at large.

The Commissioner assured that the state government would commence cultivation of the tested crops in commercial quantities to boost food security and increase the State’s revenue base, adding that ” with the methods applied in consideration of our ecologically condition, we can scale up from scarcity or zero productivity of these crops to plenty in order to meet local consumption needs of the people as well as export.”

 

Ebokpo intimated that the State Government had earlier carried out a digital soil mapping and fertility test across the State with positive results that gives the state greater advantage towards the cultivation of these arable crops.

 

He thanked His Excellency Senator Prince Bassey Edet Otu for the initiative and called on investors across the globe to take advantage of this rare opportunity to invest massively in the state agricultural sector.

 

He also commended Bella Van Bas Company for locally fabricating simple processing machines and Irrigation facilities used on the farm, noting that with the technology displayed, kick starting commercial agriculture will be topnotch as locally fabricated agricultural machines would also be put in place.

Giving an in depth analysis of the pilot project, the Chief Executive Officer of Bella Van Bas Company, Mr. Peter Ojong explained that from the pilot scheme, the crops can survive in every region of the state and possess high nutritional values, adding that machines used in both pre- planting and post- planting operations were locally fabricated and are not expensive to acquire, while encouraging small holder farmers to form clusters of cooperatives to acquire them for smooth farming operations.

The Commissioner and other dignitaries were taken through the farm with explanations of the cultivation processes of the various crops and a practical demonstration of the locally fabricated machines which included; the power tiller, rice destoning machine, corn sheller, rice thrasher, and cart for easy conveyance of crops from the farm.

 

The event drew many critical stakeholders in the agricultural sector including the Commissioner for Wealth Creation, Hon. Patrick Egbede, the Senior Special Adviser on Agriculture, Prof. John Shiyam, State Director of Project Grow, Mr Denis Ikpali, Dr. Cletus Omono, the Director of Alternative feed resources, Mrs. Eunice Bisong and other Directors of the State Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation Development.