By Emmanuel Udoh
Cross River State has commenced the second phase of its Cowpea Development Programme, moving from successful field validation to a structured, three-year value-chain strategy aimed at expanding seed production, increasing farmers’ incomes, improving household nutrition and creating opportunities for agribusiness investment.
The programme, implemented by the Cross River State Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation Development under the People First Administration of His Excellency, Apostle Senator Prince Bassey Edet Otu, builds on the first phase launched in September 2025. The initial phase tested cowpea production across the state’s diverse agro-ecological zones, with encouraging results supporting the transition to commercial-scale production.
A baseline assessment of nutrition indicators amongst the beneficiaries of the first phase of the cowpea seed distribution was undertaken, and its findings are being published in nutritional and biomedical journals.
The second phase was officially flagged off in Calabar with the distribution of improved cowpea and soybean seeds to farmers by the Honourable Commissioner for Agriculture and Irrigation Development, Hon. Johnson Andiambey Ebokpo.
It will deploy 3.6 metric tonnes of improved SAMPEA 20-T Foundation cowpea seeds, sourced from the Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR), Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, for distribution to farmers at 2kg per beneficiary. The programme is designed to establish a sustainable seed-to-market system that will support continuous expansion of cowpea production across the state.
SAMPEA 20-T is a research-developed cowpea variety with high genetic purity and resistance to the major pod-borer pest, Maruca vitrata. The variety is associated with early maturity, improved yield performance, and reduced dependence on insecticide applications compared with susceptible conventional varieties.
The SAMPEA 20-T. Variety will be distributed to farmers as foundation seeds. Foundation seeds are first-generation seeds carefully produced and monitored under strict supervision to maintain high genetic purity. They are primarily used for multiplication to produce quality planting materials for farmers.
A key component of the programme is the establishment of 15 cowpea seed multiplication stations, licensed by the Nigeria Agricultural Seeds Council, with each station covering at least one hectare. These stations will support certified-seed production for farmers producing cowpea for food and commercial markets, while foundation and breeder seed production will provide a sustainable multiplication pipeline for quality planting materials within the state. The process is being implemented in collaboration with key value-chain stakeholders, including the Cowpea Farmers Association of Nigeria, under the leadership of its State Chairman, Mr. Nathaniel Nkor.
The programme will also adopt a market-oriented production model through structured farmers’ associations and cooperatives. The Ministry plans to develop an aggregation and off-take system, with an intention to purchase approximately 75 percent of participating farmers’ output, while farmers retain the remaining 25 percent for household consumption. The Ministry will similarly participate in the off-take of foundation and breeder seed produced through the programme.
Cross River State has set a target of 90 tonnes of cowpea seed by the 2027 production season and approximately 10,125 tonnes of cowpea production by 2028. These targets are expected to transform cowpea from a supplementary crop into a significant contributor to the state’s agricultural economy.
The programme provides opportunities for women, young people and smallholder farmers to participate in organised production, while creating demand for aggregation, transportation, storage, processing and input supply services. For investors and the private sector, the opportunity extends across the entire value chain, including seed multiplication, commercial production, aggregation, storage, processing, logistics and market development.
The state’s structured production and proposed off-take arrangement are intended to make the cowpea value chain more predictable and commercially attractive, thereby encouraging investment and supporting indigenous entrepreneurs.
The programme also has a direct food-security dimension. Cowpea is an important source of plant-based protein, while increased domestic production can contribute to more affordable food supplies and additional income for farming households, improved nutrition for pregnant women, lactating mothers, and growing children. Recent agricultural research continues to identify improved cowpea varieties and stronger seed systems as important tools for productivity and food-security gains in West and Central Africa. As a key sustainability pillar , His Excellency, Apostle Sen Bassey Edet Otu, the Governor of Cross River State had awarded the contract for the establishment of the Institute for Agricultural Research Outstation in Nyanya , Bekwarra LGA to provide institutional support to farmers and stakeholders within the cowpea value chain.
With technical support from the Institute for Agricultural Research and other relevant institutions, organised farmer groups at the production end and an emerging aggregation and off-take structure at the market end, the Ministry is working to create a continuous cycle from research and seed development to production, aggregation, marketing and reinvestment.
The broader ambition is clear: Cross River State is not merely distributing cowpea seed; it is building a cowpea economy.
From proof of concept to production. From production to value chain. From value chain to prosperity.
For Cross River’s farmers, investors, and indigenous entrepreneurs, the message is clear: the state’s next major agricultural opportunity may be growing in cowpea.
