Agriculture: Ayade urges FAO to extend agric value chain beyond cocoa, palm oil

Cross River state governor, Professor Ben Ayade wants the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations to assist the state with financial intermediation and technical advisors for its agricultural value Chain.

Ayade made the plea in Calabar while playing host to FAO’s representative in Nigeria, Fred Kateero.

According to Ayade, his administration’s agricultural value chain policy has resulted in the establishment of various agro-based industries in local governments of the state where raw materials for such industries are in abundance.

Alluding to the $65 million intervention, Ayade called on the FAO to allows the state to introduce an agricultural value chain beyond cocoa and oil palm.

On his part, Kateero said he was in Cross River to interface with the state to know its priority on the agric value chain and what FAO can do to help. He pledged FAO’s readiness to assist the state in its agricultural revolution.

Governor Ayade appealed to Keteero to ensure that the $65 million has practical value on Cross River rather than being spent on workshops, seminars, and training that used to be the trend in the past