C’River speaker advises youths on agric loans

John Lebo

No fewer than 40 youths that underwent agricultural training at Songhai Farms in Abi Local Government Area of Cross River have been advised to quickly register their agricultural business ventures.

The Speaker of Cross River House of Assembly, Mr John Lebo, gave the advice in an interview with journalists in Calabar on Sunday.

Lebo, who represents Abi state constituency, told the youths that they needed to do so to be able to access the N96 million World Bank agriculture loan to the state.

He said that each beneficiary would be given N2.4 million under the World Bank Youth and Women Empowerment Scheme in the state.

The speaker, who is the guarantor to the 40 beneficiaries, said that the loans would be disbursed to them in the first week of August.

He further promised to recommend them for similar loans in future if they made judicious use of the funds.
Lebo also advised unemployed youths in the state to endeavour to undergo training at the South-South Entrepreneurship Development Centre, Calabar.

The speaker said that the training was necessary for the youths so as to get them fully prepared for business.
The Cross River Government says it has concluded plans to acquire 250 hectares of land for banana cultivation in Odukpani Local Government Area of the state.

The Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Prof. Anthony Eneji, disclosed this in Calabar.
Eneji spoke on the sidelines of a consultative meeting with the Okoyong Council of Chiefs over the land for the proposed banana project.

The commissioner said that the pilot commercial banana cultivation was part of the state government’s plan to diversify its economy.

He said: “government is determined to take agriculture to a sustained commercial level capable of replacing oil as a major source of revenue.’’

He said that the communities around the proposed plantation would benefit from the project because it would offer employment opportunities to them.

The commissioner said that the communities would also benefit from the good road network and other social amenities that the plantation would attract.

He noted that the project was a Public- Private Partnership with San Carlos Group, a Mexican company.
He further said that under the partnership, 3,000 hectares of banana would be cultivated in the state in the long run, adding that the project would be extended to Boki Local Government Area.