The Ekiti State Government has reiterated its commitment to improve on the cultivation of Cocoa in the state and to make it one of the foremost producing states of the crop in the country.
Mobolaji Aluko, director-general, Office of Transformation, Strategy and Delivery (OTSD), made this statement during a meeting with members of the Cocoa Development Association in his office.
Aluko affirmed that the development of agriculture remained one of the major focuses of the Kayode Fayemi administration, as about N40million has been set aside for the establishment of a Cocoa Clonal Garden/Cocoa Rehabilitation in the state.
He guaranteed continued collaboration between the state government and the farmers, which according to him would assist to revive cocoa production in the state.
Francis Ibitoye, chairman, Ekiti State chapter of the Cocoa Development Association, who spoke on behalf of all cocoa farmers in the state, expressed the association’s readiness to partner the government for development of agriculture in the state.
Nigeria currently ranks joint fifth with neighbouring Cameroon with 210, 000 metric tons in the 2016-2017 season, according to data from ICCO.
Nigeria has two cocoa harvests, the smaller midcrop from April to June, and the main crop from October to December.
The main crop usually accounts for about 70 percent of Nigeria’s cocoa output, while the midcrop accounts for the remaining percentage.
Akinremi Feyisipo.
