By Christian Njoku

The Cross River Government on Thursday in Calabar held a Cocoa and Coffee Investors Roundtable to enhance value addition in the production of cocoa and coffee in the state.

The meeting, which brought together key stakeholders from agricultural, environmental and financial institutions, also witnessed the unveiling of a Seven-year Strategic Development Plan for Cocoa, Coffee and Oil Palm (2025–2032).

Speaking at the event, the state’s Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr Johnson Ebokpo, said the state was no longer comfortable with being a supplier of raw, undervalued cocoa and coffee beans.

Ebokpo said that the meeting provided a platform for the state to share its strategic vision anchored on value addition and inclusive growth.

According to him, it also revealed a clear Public-Private Partnership (PPP) framework.

“We are transitioning from production to processing; from exporting raw materials to creating premium products and jobs right here at home.

He added that the state would be establishing six new cocoa estates as part of its seven-year strategic cocoa and coffee development plan.

The commissioner said that they would also be piloting the cultivation of both Arabica and Robusta coffee across ecologically suitable areas of the state.

In her remarks, the wife of the governor, Mrs Eyoanwan Otu, while declaring the event open, said one of her core mandates was to support women in agriculture.

Otu, represented by Dr Iyang Asibong, her Special Adviser on Gender Mainstreaming, commended the ongoing development in the state’s cocoa sector.

The governor’s wife said she wished that women in the state dominated the coffee sector.

Speaking, Dr Coffie Mawuli, Country Director, World Cocoa Foundation (WCF), Ghana and Nigeria, said they had started a deforestation free cocoa initiative.

He said this was in response to the sustainability challenge that they faced in Nigeria.

Mawuli said this would enhance the development of the sector not at the expense of Nigeria’s natural resources but cultivating with sustaining the future.

According to him, areas of investment in Cross River’s cocoa sector include: local processing and value addition, traceability and digital technology platforms, ecosystem services and carbon market, among others.

In addition, Mr Hassan Usman, President of National Coffee and Tea Association of Nigeria (NACOFTAN), said Cross River’s plan to develop cocoa and coffee would yield huge economic benefits.

“At the peak period of coffee cultivation, you can get up to 2.5 tons per hectare while in the full harvesting you can get up to 3.5 tons per hectare,” he said.

He revealed that a ton of coffee was presently sold at nine million naira. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Benson Ezugwu and Benson Iziama