The Ondo State government has established another Cocoa Plantation at Ijugbere in Owo Local Government Area of the state to rev up its efforts to boost the tree crop subsector of the Agric value chain.
The project, sited on a two thousand hectares of land in which thirty-five hectares have been planted with improved cocoa seedlings, also has a seedling production centre that has over four hundred and fifty thousand seedlings ready to feed the plantation and for distribution to new generation of young cocoa farmers across the state.
Leading some members of his cabinet on a tour of the project sites, the state governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, reiterated the commitment of the present administration to leverage on the agricultural potentials of the state to ensure that youths are productively engaged for them to begin to live a better life.
The governor, who assured that the Cocoa Revolution Project of the present administration would be worth investing on, in view of the fact that its improved seedlings has eighteen months period for fruits development, said his administration is prepared to return the state to where it used to be as the leading producer of Cocoa.
While appreciating President Muhammadu Buhari for his interest at supporting the state government on its agricultural policies aimed at creating jobs for the unemployed and to ensure food security for the state and beyond, Governor Akeredolu said Ondo State would soon take its rightful position in the production of Cocoa.
Addressing large crowd of people who trooped to welcome him in the various farm settlements on the road leading to the plantation, Governor Akeredolu promised that work would soon begin on the farm road so as to make their farm produce easily accessible to the nearest markets.
Akeredolu said ” our five cardinal program is clear and job creation is there and we say we are going to do that through agriculture.
“This project is a major one for us. We use to be the leading Cocoa Producer in at least, Africa, if not the world. But something had happened to us in Nigeria and our fortune has really dwindled.
“And President Muhammadu has always felt that there must be a Cocoa revolution so that we can really try as much as possible struggle to be where we use to be as the leading Cocoa Producer in the world.
“So, when he gave his words and he’s to come here for Cocoa revolution, we decided to look for a site and we got this Ijugbere area so that we can have several hectares of Cocoa plantation. We are looking at the possibility of bringing the President to see, you see we have been to the nursery and it’s well done.”
Packaged by Oyeladun Olabiyi
