Gov. Ben Ayade of Cross River on Monday in Calabar said plans were underway to set up Agro-industrial processing plants in the state in 2016.
Ayade said this while presenting the 2016 budget proposal to the State House of Assembly.
He said that the plants would process banana, cocoa, poultry and salt production.
“In addition to the establishment of rice processing plant in Bansara, we shall give assistance to rice cultivation.
We will harness the potentials the state has on agriculture to give a boost to productivity through the establishment of Agro-industrial processing plants,’’ he said.
Ayade said that the processing plant for banana would be sited in Boki, the one for cocoa in Etung, while the one for poultry and salt would be in Yala.
The governor said that the state would continue to partner with the Federal Government on agriculture through its Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme.
According to him, this will assist farmers in the state to get timely access to affordable credit to increase their productivity.
He assured that his administration would collaborate with the private sector and donor agencies to increase agricultural production and reduce poverty in the state.
Ayade said that to achieve the government’s target in the agricultural sector, the sum of N3, 232, 333, 759 had been earmarked for the sector in 2016.
Source: Today
