Cross River State’s drive toward agricultural modernization received a major boost on Friday as Governor Bassey Otu launched the distribution of subsidised mini tractors to farmers’ cooperatives across the state, a key milestone under his People-First Agricultural Transformation Agenda.
Speaking at the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation Development headquarters in Calabar, Governor Otu said the initiative followed extensive consultations and was designed to ease land preparation, which accounts for over 70 per cent of cultivation costs.
“When we assumed office, we made a firm commitment to make agriculture the backbone of our development strategy,” Otu said.
“This programme directly addresses the challenge of land preparation to boost productivity and reduce labour.”
He disclosed that 108 mini tractors were being distributed in the first phase, with a target of 324 tractors within three years.
The tractors are allocated through a cooperative model that promotes shared ownership and wider access to mechanisation at the grassroots.
“This intervention ensures that our farmers can farm more, earn more, and feed more,” the governor said, adding that the initiative aligns with other state agricultural programmes, including cassava seed multiplication, maize and soybean production with Flour Mills Plc, and pilot sorghum farming with Champion Breweries.
Commissioner for Agriculture and Irrigation Development, Hon. Johnson A. Ebokpo, described the launch as “a big leap in agricultural transformation.”
He explained that each tractor unit comes equipped with a plough, ridger, harrow, planter, and trailer bucket — fully registered, insured, and fitted with a tracking device.
Ebokpo noted that beneficiaries had been trained to ensure sustainability and commended the First Lady, Bishop (Mrs.) Eyoanwan Bassey Otu, for championing women’s inclusion in the programme.
Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture and Member representing Boki I, praised the initiative as unprecedented, describing Governor Otu as
“God-sent to liberate farmers” and urging beneficiaries to “utilise this opportunity to fulfil the governor’s dream to feed the world.”
Mr. Femi Odeleye, CEO of Bespoke Concepts Ltd, suppliers of the tractors, lauded the initiative as “the planting of seeds for a new agricultural revolution.”
He assured that his company would provide technical support, operator training, and spare parts, while revealing plans to establish a tractor assembly plant in Calabar to create over 2,000 jobs.
Chairman of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Cross River Chapter, Rev. Ojikpong Nyiam Bisong, likened Governor Otu’s agricultural vision to that of Dr. Michael Okpara of the old Eastern Region, noting that “no other governor in Nigeria is doing what you are doing for farmers today.”
Leader of Women in Agriculture, Comrade Philomena Bassey Eyo, expressed gratitude to the governor and First Lady for empowering women through agriculture.
“Your Excellency, we thank you and our dear mother of the state for empowering women in agriculture. Today, with these tractors, we have moved from subsistence to mechanised farming,” she said.
She pledged the women’s continued support for the governor’s agricultural vision, assuring that they were fully mobilised to sustain the gains of the initiative through 2027 and beyond.
The event was attended by traditional rulers, women farmers, and private sector partners.
