Cross River State has set a target of attracting N150 billion in private agricultural investment over the next six years, backed by a N30 billion Agri-Development Fund established to guarantee investments in the sector.

The Coordinator of Project GROW, Dennis Ikpali, disclosed this on Tuesday during a media briefing in Calabar, saying the state had already facilitated N3 billion in agricultural financing and secured an additional N1.5 billion for the 2026 farming season.

Ikpali said the initiative was designed to transform agriculture from subsistence farming to a commercially driven sector capable of creating jobs, increasing farmers’ incomes and stimulating economic growth.

According to him, the project is currently operating across strategic value chains including rice, cassava, aquaculture, maize and soybean, while also supporting secondary value chains such as cowpea, sorghum, wheat, groundnut and orange-fleshed sweet potato.

He revealed that the programme had secured an offtake agreement valued at N18 billion with Flour Mills of Nigeria for the supply of 2,000 metric tonnes of soybean and 20,000 metric tonnes of maize, while discussions were ongoing for cassava supply arrangements.

“We are deliberately building a market system where production is linked to guaranteed markets. Rather than producing first and searching for buyers, we are securing the markets and then encouraging production,” he said.

Ikpali disclosed that over 28 agribusiness aggregators and more than 20 service providers had been integrated into the state’s agricultural value chain, helping to improve access to mechanisation and other farm services.

He added that the project, in partnership with German development organisation APOS, had trained more than 5,300 farmers on good agricultural practices, financial literacy and business management.

According to him, the programme has already cultivated 450 hectares of maize and soybean under its pilot phase and successfully facilitated the supply of 114 metric tonnes of soybean to processing firms.

The coordinator further stated that the initiative had generated 391 direct jobs, with efforts ongoing to assess the number of indirect jobs created through the project’s activities.

Speaking earlier, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Irrigation Development, Johnson Ebokpo, said the administration of Governor Bassey Otu was repositioning agriculture as a strategic economic sector rather than a social intervention programme.

Ebokpo said the state’s agricultural policy was focused on building a modern, investment-driven economy capable of attracting private capital, supporting agribusinesses, creating employment opportunities and enhancing food security.

He noted that while Cross River possesses vast agricultural potential, including favourable climatic conditions and abundant natural resources, the sector had long been constrained by weak market systems, inadequate access to finance, poor value-chain development and limited private-sector participation.

The commissioner assured stakeholders that the government would continue to strengthen extension services, promote climate-smart agriculture, support value-chain development and create an enabling environment for investors.

He stressed that sustainable agricultural transformation would require collaboration among government, farmers, financial institutions, development partners and the media.