By Onwa Ekor
In a bid to diversify the economy while improving the livelihood of the citizenry, Cross River governor, Prince Bassey Otu, has approved the distribution of 30 million coffee seedlings to small holder farmers.
The State Commissioner for Agriculture and Irrigation, Hon Johnson Ebokpo, disclosed this during a press briefing held at Ernest Etim Bassey NUJ Press Centre in Calabar recently.
According to Ebokpo who was accompanied by various stakeholders in the coffee industry at the briefing, “the governor has approved the distribution of 30 million coffee seedlings to small holder farmers,” maintaining that, “the seedlings will cover about 27,000 hectares of small holder farms.”
“Within the seven years strategic period which runs from 2025 to 2032,” the Agriculture Commissioner said, “it is expected that we would have distributed at least 30 million seedlings to cover about 27,000 hectares.” 
Ebokpo who explained that the coffee revelation would boost productivity and encourage coffee tourism added that, among other benefits, “it would create a pool of opportunity for young people to earn foreign exchange.
On the technicalities of processing coffee, the Commissioner said, “we are ensuring that coffee that is grown is not grown within our forest reserves because we are focused on small holder farmers and we are mapping them, so no coffee goes to anywhere that we don’t know the location.
“If the location is not suitable, we advise the farmer because in compliance with European Union Deforestation Regulation which states that any cocoa or coffee soiling that is grown within the gazetted foreign reserves will not be able to access European market, so, we have to ensure that we don’t flaunt it,” Ebokpo pointed out.
President, National Coffee and Tea Association of Nigeria, Dr. Hassan Kakara, lauded Otu for his interest in coffee and tea industry, assuring that his association will ensure that the tremendous goals of the sector is achieved.
“The National Association of coffee and tea was here in Cross River between 2019 to 2020 to establish and research the products in some parts of the state.
“This was carried out in Agbokim, waterfall and Ochong and it was proven that coffee and tea can do very well and the products we harvested then, showed a high standard more than where the production is currently going on in commercial quantities in Nigeria,” Kakara stated.
For CEO Lingzhi Global Nigeria Limited, Blessing Nanman, her team is set to establish 821 coffee shops in the state.
Reasoning that, “if you are here and you don’t make up to N10 million in a month, say welcome to coffee,” Nanman added that, “my team will invest in Cross River for skills development, community development and jobs creation.”
Commissioner for Information, Dr Erasmus Ekpang, remarked that the governor is intentional on the development of agriculture to ensure that in the next few years, Cross Riverians remain the major exporters of coffee while decoupling the state from over reliance on federal allocations.
Special Adviser, Office of the First Lady, Queen Essien, disclosed that the wife of the governor, Bishop Eyoanwan Otu, in partnership with her husband had organised and mobilised women to register into coffee production.
Essien who enjoined women to key into coffee production, pointed out that most registered persons into the Coffee production in the state are women who were hitherto trained and certified as production and packaging experts.
