Cross River State has distributed more than 800,000 coffee seedlings and plans to raise the figure to 10 million as part of efforts to build a major coffee industry and create jobs.
Governor Bassey Otu disclosed this at the second International Coffee Festival in Calabar, where he outlined plans to expand production, attract investors and develop export-ready coffee farms.
Otu, who was represented by the Commissioner for Agriculture and Irrigation, Johnson Ebokpo, said the state had subsidised coffee seedlings from N1,000 to N300 to encourage participation by young people and women.
He added that more than 700 farmers and agricultural extension workers had received training in collaboration with Lindsay Global.
The governor said the state’s coffee development programme was guided by a seven-year roadmap covering 2025 to 2032, while its Coffee Revolution Programme was launched on July 3, 2025.
He attributed the state's potential to its four agro-ecological zones, which he said could support both Robusta and Arabica varieties.
“There is no state in Nigeria that can produce as much Robusta as Cross River. And with our rainfall, there is no country in West Africa that can produce as much Robusta as Cross River State,” he said.
Otu also disclosed plans to establish coffee estates through public-private partnerships, including a proposed 6,000-hectare project with Jonvents Group across Obanliku, Akamkpa and Boki local government areas.
To support exports, he said the state was strengthening its regulatory and traceability systems through the Tree Crop Development Agency Bill, an amendment to the Produce Bill and the Cross River State Agricultural Traceability System.
He described the digital traceability platform as important for meeting international market requirements, particularly the European Union Deforestation Regulation.
Meanwhile, the convener of the festival and Chief Executive Officer of Lingzhi Global Nigeria Limited, Blessing Nanman Tangtur, said her company planned to create 10,000 jobs and establish 821 coffee shops across the country.
She disclosed that 500 jobs had already been created, while 23 coffee shops were operational.
Tangtur urged the Federal Government to introduce supportive policies, improve access to funding and encourage international partnerships to grow the sector.
The National President of the Coffee and Tea Association of Nigeria, Hassan Usman Kakara, commended Cross River for its interventions in seedling distribution, saying the state had raised three million seedlings for smallholder farmers.
The festival brought together farmers, investors, industry experts and entrepreneurs to discuss ways of reviving Nigeria’s coffee industry, which declined after the 1970s and 1980s.
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