The Technical Working Committee of the Northern Cross River Agricultural and Cultural Festival (NORTHFEST) has intensified its engagement with critical stakeholders, farmers cooperatives, financial institutions and the traditional rulers in the Northern Senatorial District.
The meeting which was held on Thursday, November 4, 2025, at the Landmark Hotel in Ogoja, is part of a comprehensive strategy to reform NORTHFEST into a self-sustaining, annual agro-event aimed at boosting the region’s economy.
Ntufam Fidelis Ugbo, Chairman of the Technical Working Committee (TWC), said the meeting was a follow-up to an earlier engagement in Calabar, aimed at conveying Governor Bassey Otu’s vision for the reformed NORTHFEST. He stressed that the delegation is dedicated to making the festival an annual celebration, anchored on the region’s deep agricultural heritage and cultural identity.
“The economy of the North will receive a boost through agricultural products that can turn the lives of the people around and that is the mandate the governor has tasked us with,” Ntufam Ugbo declared. He noted that financial institutions have been incorporated as key partners to drive the monetary component of the process.
Dr. Peter Ojie, Secretary of the NORTHFEST TWC, reinforced the need for foundational change, stating that the re-organization aims to transition agriculture from usual subsistence practices to commercial farming for sustainability.
According to Ojie: “The government is looking at means and ways to make agriculture more beneficial to our people”, explaining that the 20-man revival committee was set up to gather modalities from stakeholders on implementing commercial agriculture, which will involve financing from specialized banks, and reforms in land management tenure systems.
Stakeholders offered several practical suggestions for the Festival during the extensive interactive session. Mr. Emmanuel Anoh, Special Adviser to the Governor on Agric Value Chain (North), urged the committee to consider an “Agro-tourism” focusing on high-yield cash crops. Anoh also suggested integrating the traditional institution into the agricultural framework to help check credit defaulters, advocating for the establishment of a “farmers court” at the LGA levels.
Paramount Ruler of Bekwarra, HRM Chief Linus Ogbeche Odey, strongly recommended establishing a faculty of agriculture in the state university within the North to aid agro-research and boost modern mechanized farming.
The Paramount Ruler of Obudu, HRH Utsu Felix Ukudare, encouraged stricter policies to control bush burning, while his Yala and Obanliku counterparts suggested a land-crop matching survey to optimize crop location.
Pastor Joseph Attah, a resource person and Consultant from PLUM Horizons Limited, Abuja, disclosed that the feedback from the interface will form the final implementation document for the project. This document aims to provide strong business value chains for the next five years.
Attah said the strategies include a clear agricultural road map and financing methods which will incorporate market linkages, processing, monitoring and evaluation through development partners.
The Consultant spotlighted crops dominant in the North such as rice, cassava, yam, pepper, oil palm, melon and groundnut among others as key components for achieving high market returns.
The Ogoja engagement, which followed an earlier 2-day meeting in Calabar attracted a wide range of industry players; LGA Chairmen and members of the TWC.
Notable attendees include Rt. Hon. Ogana Lukpata Assistant Secretary of the TWC, Rt. Hon. Patrick Uguge, Mrs. Catherine Agba-Ajibike, Mr. Noel Ugbong, Mr Jude Unde, Agatha Murphy etc.
The event drew Paramount Rulers, leaders of farmers’ unions and cooperatives from across the Northern Senatorial District, bank branch managers, James Alicha, Ibu Monkom and several other interested parties.
