By Musa Muhammad Kutama, Calabar
The Cross River State Government has launched an ambitious coffee development programme aimed at transforming the state’s agricultural sector, expanding export opportunities, and creating jobs for women and youths through the distribution of 30 million coffee seedlings over the next seven years.
Speaking in Calabar on Monday, the Commissioner for Agricultural Development and Irrigation, Johnson Andiambey, said the initiative, tagged the Coffee Revolution, is a strategic intervention of the administration of Bassey Otu to diversify the state’s economy beyond cocoa, which has remained its dominant export crop for decades.
Andiambey said the programme represents the first deliberate effort since the establishment of the Eastern Nigeria cocoa estates between 1957 and 1960 to introduce another globally competitive cash crop into the state’s agricultural value chain.
According to him, the initiative followed extensive research and consultations with stakeholders after the present administration assumed office.
“We conducted a situational analysis to determine how best to diversify the state’s income base and improve the livelihoods of our people. While cocoa has served us well, relying on a single export commodity exposes farmers to fluctuations in international prices.
“Coffee presents another opportunity to build wealth and strengthen our economy,” he said.
The commissioner disclosed that the state government has approved the distribution of 30 million coffee seedlings under a seven-year strategic plan running from 2024 to 2032. The programme is expected to cover about 27,000 hectares of farmland with both Arabica and Robusta coffee plantations.
He explained that the first phase of the project began with five million seedlings. Although only one million seedlings were distributed in 2025 due to the late commencement of the planting season, the remaining four million seedlings will be distributed during the current planting season.
Andiambey noted that the programme is primarily targeted at smallholder farmers, while commercial-scale production will be introduced in subsequent phases.
He stressed the importance of women’s participation, citing successful coffee-producing countries such as Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Cameroon and Côte d’Ivoire, where women play significant roles in coffee production.
The commissioner said the state is receiving technical support from Lindsay Global Coffee, while a multi-stakeholder committee has developed a comprehensive coffee roadmap focusing on institutional development, production, post-harvest processing, marketing, access to finance and sustainability.
He added that the programme is expected to empower about 28,000 women and youths by supporting one-hectare coffee farms.
According to him, well-managed coffee plantations can produce between 2.5 and 3.5 tonnes per hectare annually, generating substantial income for farmers, creating employment and improving rural livelihoods.
Also speaking, the President of the National Coffee and Tea Association of Nigeria, Usman, recalled that Nigeria was once among Africa’s leading coffee producers before poor market structures forced many farmers to abandon the crop.
He emphasised the need for sustained collaboration among government, farmers, processors, marketers and financial institutions to ensure the long-term success of the initiative.
The NACOFTA president also announced that Cross River has formally registered as a coffee-producing state under the association, expressing confidence that the state’s renewed investment in coffee would strengthen its position in Nigeria’s agricultural diversification drive.