Cross River Agric Tour Spotlights Gains in Agribusiness, Crop Development

Share on WhatsApp Share via Email The Cross River State Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation Development has highlighted growing opportunities in agribusiness, inclusive enterprise development and crop production following an assessment tour of agricultural interventions across Yakurr, Obubra and Ikom Local Government Areas.

The exercise, conducted on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, examined the functionality, economic potential and sustainability of selected agricultural projects designed to strengthen value chains, expand rural business opportunities and improve livelihoods.

The assessment team was led by the Permanent Secretary, Dr Odey J. Ikongha, representing the Commissioner for Agriculture and Irrigation Development, Mr Johnson A. Ebokpo Jr. The exercise was organised in collaboration with agricultural development partners and is expected to extend to other local government areas.

At the poultry production cluster at Ekori Beach, Yakurr, the State Knowledge Management and Communication Officer, Mr Christian F. Ekpor, disclosed that 51 persons were primary beneficiaries of the IFAD-assisted Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprise for the Niger Delta (LIFE-ND) Project in the community.

Ekpor explained that the cluster served as a transition facility for graduated incubatees, enabling them to consolidate their technical knowledge, practical skills and business experience while working towards establishing permanent locations for their enterprises. He said the facility had an annual production capacity of 15,000 table birds through five production cycles of 3,000 birds each.

Responding, Ikongha emphasised that enterprise incubation was designed to transform beneficiaries from trainees into independent agribusiness entrepreneurs. He noted that the transition arrangement allowed graduated incubatees to sustain production, strengthen their businesses and acquire the operational experience required to establish viable enterprises independently.

The team also assessed beneficiaries, including persons with disabilities, and interacted with Miss Becky Moses Ettah, a former incubatee who has become a poultry entrepreneur. Ettah recounted her journey from domestic work to business ownership, disclosing that she now operates a poultry pen with a capacity of 2,500 birds and employs four persons. She attributed her progress to the knowledge, practical training, mentorship and enterprise support received through the LIFE-ND Project.

Another beneficiary, Ekpe John Mark, a person with disabilities, commended the project’s deliberate inclusion of persons with disabilities in its empowerment, capacity-building and enterprise-support programmes. He noted that the intervention had created opportunities for participation in agricultural enterprise development for a group often overlooked in empowerment initiatives.

At Iyamoyong Community, the State Project Coordinator, Dr Innocent M. Ogbin, received the delegation and explained that the intervention included 10 lock-up stores established to provide traders with secure spaces for their commodities and business materials. He said the facilities addressed challenges associated with inadequate storage, exposure to harsh weather and theft, while the accompanying solar-powered borehole and toilet facilities were designed to improve water supply, hygiene and sanitation within the market.

Ekpor stressed that sustainability remained central to the LIFE-ND Project’s implementation and exit strategy, noting that the facilities were intended to remain productive community assets beyond the project’s implementation period. He identified Commodity Apex Development Associations (CADAs) and Operation and Maintenance Committees as key structures for promoting community ownership, accountability, effective management and regular maintenance.

At Ofumbongha 1, community representatives, including the Village Head, Chief Alphonsus Oyom Okpa, and the Chairman/Youth Leader, Mr Sunday Ekong, expressed appreciation for the intervention and the opportunities it had created for the community.

The team inspected the community rice processing mill and witnessed the milling of parboiled rice. The facility comprises two milling machines with a capacity of 800kg per hour each, a 25HP destoner with a capacity of 500kg per hour, four giant boilers for parboiling, a concrete drying platform, a petrol-powered generator, a solar-powered borehole, offices, stores, fire extinguishers, a resting room and male and female conveniences.

Ekpor described the mill as a potential economic hub for Ofumbongha 1 and neighbouring rice-producing communities, explaining that local processing could reduce transportation costs and post-harvest losses while enabling farmers to earn more from value-added products. He added that the facility could generate employment in milling, parboiling, packaging, transportation, equipment operation and marketing, while stimulating ancillary businesses within the community.

In Obubra Local Government Area, the team assessed a yam minisett multiplication farm at Ogada 2, a one-hectare cowpea breeding centre at the NYSC Camp, Ogada 2, and a five-hectare cowpea breeding centre at the College of Agricultural Technology, Ovunom.

The cowpea breeding programme is expected to run for two years, after which the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation Development is expected to off-take the produce for further multiplication and distribution to women in agriculture. The delegation also inspected a soybean production centre facilitated by Project Grow and another yam minisett multiplication farm at Ochon, where beneficiaries highlighted the benefits of practical training in yam minisett technology, particularly for women and young people.

At Ikom, the team, received by the Director of Cocoa Development, Mr William Ifere, inspected a 91,000-seedling cocoa nursery facilitated by the Ministry in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

The nursery is propagating the TC4 cocoa variety, which has an estimated gestation period of 18 months and is being promoted for its disease resistance, improved seed conformation and production of larger, more consistent seeds and pods.

The assessment covered a range of interventions in poultry production, enterprise incubation, rural market infrastructure, rice processing, yam multiplication, cowpea breeding, soybean production and cocoa development. The continuing exercise is expected to provide further insight into the utilisation, economic relevance and sustainability of the investments as the state seeks to strengthen agricultural value chains, expand agribusiness opportunities and improve rural livelihoods.