By Musa Muhammad Kutama, Calabar
The Governor of Cross River State, Senator Bassey Edet Otu, has reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to agricultural transformation and food security as he flagged off the South-South Zonal Renewed Hope Farm Input Support Programme (FISP), promising that every bag of fertiliser allocated to farmers would reach its intended beneficiaries.
Represented by the Speaker of the Cross River State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Elvert Ayambem, at the ceremony held in Calabar on Saturday, Governor Otu welcomed participants from across the South-South, describing smallholder farmers as the backbone of Nigeria’s agricultural economy who deserve sustained government support.
He commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Federal Government, and the National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF) for the intervention, noting that the programme would improve productivity, strengthen food security, and build economic resilience across the region.
“Our farmers remain central to our People’s First Agenda because when agriculture thrives, families prosper, young people find opportunities, and our economy grows stronger.
“Every bag of fertiliser must reach the right farmer. This is how we preserve trust and achieve food price stabilisation, improved productivity, and rural economic growth,” the governor said.
Governor Otu assured the Federal Government that Cross River State would implement the programme strictly in line with approved guidelines, ensuring transparency, accountability, and close monitoring to prevent diversion.
He added that the state would continue investing in mechanisation, commodity development, extension services, and strategic value chains, including cocoa, oil palm, maize, rice, and sorghum.
Speaking on behalf of the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, the Cross River State Coordinator of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Mrs. Maddy George Sampson, lauded Governor Otu’s agricultural reforms, describing Cross River as a model for agricultural development in Nigeria.
She said the governor had placed the state on a seven-year trajectory to become a national leader in cocoa, coffee, and oil palm production through investments in improved seedlings, mechanisation, cassava seed multiplication, and farmer cooperatives.
“The fertiliser being distributed under this programme is a grant and is not for sale. It is designed to close the productivity gap, increase yields, support indigenous fertiliser production, and strengthen Nigeria’s food security,” she said, adding that the intervention demonstrates the Federal Government’s commitment to empowering smallholder farmers.
Also speaking, the Executive Secretary of the National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF), Mohammed A. Ibrahim, represented by the Fund’s Head of Investment Department, Mr. Olalekan Alabi, described FISP as a targeted intervention designed to deliver fertiliser to verified farmers at the right time to achieve measurable increases in agricultural productivity.
According to him, the programme will benefit 128,930 smallholder farmers nationwide through the distribution of 515,720 bags of fertiliser.
The South-South zone will receive 80,640 bags for 25,200 farmers across Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Delta, and Edo states, with each beneficiary receiving four bags of fertiliser.
He disclosed that every bag of fertiliser distributed under the scheme is fully subsidised, locally produced, branded, traceable, and boldly marked “NOT FOR SALE.”
He added that beneficiary validation, documentation, and monitoring mechanisms have been put in place to ensure the inputs reach genuine farmers.
He further commended Governor Otu for positioning Cross River as a leading agricultural destination, noting that the state was the first in Nigeria to establish its own Agricultural Development Fund and had recorded significant progress through strategic partnerships, Project Grow, and other farmer-focused initiatives.