C/River Gov't to establish Special Cocoa City in Etung

The Cross River Government has concluded plans to establish a Special Cocoa City Project in Etung local government area of the state with a view to improve production and create wealth for cocoa farmers in tbr state.

The special Cocoa City project is a Public Private Partnership project between the Cross River State Government and Bean & co Global LTD (a member of LR Group of Israel).

A memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the project between Bean & co and the state government was signed on 14th Feb 2020. The final Joint Venture agreement is presently being worked on by the state government and Bean & CO GLOBAL.

The project has two components, the Agro Industrial Centre – AIC (Cocoa City), which will have a processing-plant, seedlings nursery, training facility and Centre of Excellence. The products are pulp, powder and dry cocoa beans (all for 100% export).

The cost of this component is about fifteen million dollars (15m USD) and 65% of that cost will be covered by the private sector (i.e. Bean & co and its partners) while 35% is by the Cross River State Government.

The second component is the Farmers Out grower scheme which will cover 5000 to 10,000 hectares of land. Thousands of farmers will be involved and will operate under the technical protocol of Bean & co who will buy all their produce (the pods & wet cocoa beans).

The protocol, know-how and inputs of Bean & co (including their engineered grafted seedlings whose organic character is not compromised) will ensure that the productivity is over 6 times more and the income per hectare of the farmers is at least 3 times more!!!

Speaking during a meeting held in Etung, the State Commissioner for Agriculture, Ntufam Okon Owuna, said the project will increase farmers earnings 3 times over and also with an increasing productivity.

He said that that the project will engage thousands of farmers and employ many others in the Cocoa City (plus technology transfer, adding that It was a very high impact project.

The Commissioner disclosed that discussions are ongoing with NIRSAL/CBN for the funding support of the OUT-GROWERS scheme.

"Under the funding proposal, the farmers  will receive about N2.4 million Naira Loan for four years to cover seedlings, pesticides, fertilizers, training and growing protocols and other necessary inputs.

He explained that due to the long gestation and harvest time of cocoa (average 4 years), repayment of the loan will commence from the fifth year.

Also, the Commissiiner had a stakeholders' meeting with the Cocoa Estates landlord communities, Cocoa farmers Association of Nigeria, Cocoa Association of Nigeria and other critical stakeholders in the sector which was held on Friday, 15th May, 2020 at the Etung Local Government Council Hall.

Before the meeting, the Commissioner for Agriculture, and the Director-General, Cocoa Regeneration Agency, Mr. Collins Ogar together with some directors of the Ministry of Agriculture visited and assessed the farms and facilities in the four Cocoa Plantations in Etung LGA.

The meeting was called to inform and sensitize the stakeholders on the Special Cocoa City project of the Cross River State Government and Bean & co. Global; and particularly to educate and get their buy in on the OUT GROWERS scheme part of the project.

Under the scheme, farmers with existing Cocoa farms will be required to supply personal and farm data under the Cocoa farmers registration process to participate in the project. In addition, all fallow/undeveloped land as well as areas where the plant population has withered in the four government owned Cocoa Plantations in Etung LGA will be parcellated into 1-4 hectares and allocated to prospective Cocoa farmers under the small holders model.

The stakeholders meeting also discussed and resolved issues of land rent/royalties, security in the Cocoa Estates/Plantations and rehabilitation of dilapidated infrastructure (offices, farm houses/camps and roads) in the Cocoa Plantations.

The meeting which was well attended also had in attendance the paramount ruler of Etung LGA,  clans and village heads of the all the landlord communities, the Cross River State Chairman of the Cocoa Association of Nigeria(CAN), the National Secretary of Cocoa Farmers' Association of Nigeria (CIFAN) and others.

The Paramount Ruler and chiefs, on behalf of the people of Etung LGA as well as players in the Cocoa industry, expressed their gratitude to His Excellency, Sen. Prof. Ben Ayade, the digital Governor of Cross River State for being a promise keeper.

They recalled that during his consultations and campaign before he assumed office in 2015, the Governor had promised to build a Cocoa processing factory to harness the abundant Cocoa resource in Etung and its environs.

His Excellency has not only kept his promise by building a Cocoa processing factory in Ikom, which in fact will be of benefit to the Etung people but has gone a step further to attract such a high impact investment to Etung LGA. They prayed God to continue to strengthen, prosper and re-energize him to continue to pilot the affairs of the state.