16/02/2026
CROSS RIVER STATE TAKES THE LEAD AS FIRST STATE TO DEPLOY TRACEABILITY SYSTEMS FOR MONITORING OF AGRICULTURAL VALUE CHAINS
By Sylvia Okoi
The Cross River State Governor, Senator Bassey Otu, has flagged off a state-wide traceability programme for cocoa, coffee, and oil palm.
Governor Otu, represented by the Commissioner for Agriculture and Irrigation Development, Hon Johnson Ebokpo, announced this at a Press Conference yesterday, 14th February 2026, in the conference room of the Cross River Geographic Information Agency.
Governor Otu, through the Commissioner , stated that with this announcement, Cross River State becomes the first sub-national government in Nigeria to implement a comprehensive, technology-driven framework designed to meet the stringent requirements of the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) and other global sustainability standards. He further emphasized that the initiative is a key component of the Governor Bassey Edet Otu's "People First" agenda. In his words, "The global market landscape is evolving rapidly. Major importing regions now require verifiable proof that agricultural commodities are not linked to deforestation. Without traceability and geolocation compliance, our farmers risk losing access to premium international markets." The Commissioner called on all farmers, traditional institutions, and regulatory agencies to mobilize for the state-wide sensitization and registration exercise. He declared, "Together, we are building a stronger, more sustainable, and globally competitive agricultural sector."
Prof. Susan Ohen, Chairman of the Multi-Stakeholder Committee on Cocoa, Coffee, and Oil Palm, described the launch as a "governance reform" and a "pathway to improved livelihoods." She noted that the system would allow the state to project yields accurately, improve data for Internal Generated Revenue (IGR), and ensure that government interventions, such as seeds and fertilizers, reach the right hands.
The Director General of the Cross River Geographic Information Agency (CRGIA), Mr William Archibong Jnr , informed stakeholders of the efforts of the Governor of Cross River state in ensuring that the agency's preparedness is "100% top-notch" with necessary technology in place to ensure data transparency, integrity and safety from "farm to market". The DG CRGIA further stressed that the core function of CRGIA, beyond land management, is the warehousing of geospatial data, positioning the agency to play a key role in the success of the traceability programme. He explained that the programme involves the digital profiling of farmers, mapping of farms using GPS technology, and the registration of all value chain actors, from aggregators to exporters. He further stated that CRGIA has provided office space for the programme and venue for the press conference, both intentional acts to demonstrate the agency's commitment to the success of the traceability programme.
Dr Mike Enahoro, Country Director for P**A , highlighted the unprecedented nature of the project at a sub-national level. "This is the first sub-national government anywhere to take this on," Enahoro noted. "We are breathing science into agronomy. By next week, 300 trained agents will scatter across the state to begin real-time data collection."
Highlighting the importance of the programme to the evidence based decision making model of the State Government Led by His Excellency Governor Otu, the State's Statistician General, Mrs Akedor Edet , described the programme as unprecedented, projecting increased GDP contribution of Agriculture to the state's economy which currently stands at over 50 percent. She informed the Bureau's supply of a good number of graduate statisticians to support data analytics and processing was a start.
The briefing was attended by officials of TRACE, Forestry Commission, PROPCOM+, farmers' groups, the media, and a host of other organizations.
