By Kelvin Obambon
Cross River government has begun the digital mapping of soil across the state in order to determine their suitability for the cultivation of different types of agricultural crops.
This was made known on Thursday by the Deputy Chief Press Secretary (DCPS) to the governor, Mr Edem Darlington, during an interactive session with some online news platforms in Calabar.
According to the DCPS, “the government has sent agricultural professionals to various communities across the 18 local government areas of the state to do digital mapping. They will pick the soil sample and take it to the laboratory for testing. Then they will determine the soil fertility and the type of crop that will thrive on the soil.”
The initiative, he stated, would make it much easier for investors coming into the state to invest in the agricultural sector to have knowledge of the soil type and the best crop to grow, thus eliminating trial and error in the process.
Read Also: IGP Orders Reorientation Programme, Arms Drill For Police Personnel
“The governor has decided to simplify the whole process and make it short for investors. As you come, you already know the type of soil in the various communities, it’s for you to choose what you want to cultivate. Wherever you are you can actually access the map and then decide what you are coming to plant,” he said.
Darlington also said the governor is revamping social infrastructure in Cross River, beginning with Calabar, the capital city. He added that the governor has equally stemmed the tide of insecurity by putting service chiefs in the state on their toes.
The DCPS, who was flanked by the SA to the governor on New Media, Mr Andrea Ekeng Inyang and the SA to the governor on Communications, Mr Nathan Otaba, appealed to the online media to publicize what the government is doing, stating that governor Bassey Otu-led administration places premium on the media, hence they should be partners in the development of the state.