As Nigerians continued to clamour for Economic diversification, Agricultural stakeholders in Osun State have appealed for active youth participation in farming activities especially Cocoa production.
They made the call at the Cocoa sustainable project held at lie- Ife in Osun State where farmers are also rewarded.
Recently, the federal government announced that the country earned 122.8 billion naira from the export of raw cocoa beans and cocoa products in the first quarter of 2022.
Osun is among the leading Cocoa producing states in Nigeria and this event is part of efforts to ensure improvement in it’s production annually.
These cocoa farmers are being presented with cheques to serve as an encouragement for them to improve production and yield.
Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, the Ooni of Ile Ife, recently donated one million cocoa seedlings to farmers to encourage mass production and increase their yields.
The group behind the cash donation promised to do more to encourage Cocoa farmers in the State.
They stressed the need for farmers to employ the latest technology in their day to day farming activities.
The Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria had announced plans to begin biometric data capturing for farmers for proper coordination and planning.
Cocoa and Agriculture promotion were the major reasons Nigeria was a major player on the World Economic Scene being the major producer of Cocoa, Palm Oil and Cassava.
But over the years, the nation has been overtaken as the major producer by Countries like Ghana, Malaysia and Ivory Coast as the major producers.
Several Initiative by government at all levels including the Cocoa rebirth programme have not yielded the desired results.
It is hoped that initiatives like this will go a long way in replicating the achievement of the past that led to the erection of the Cocoa House in Ibadan as a monument to the Nations’ Agriculture production and endeavours.
It is also hoped that Nigeria as a nation will embrace the concept of Value addition in the Agriculture Production Value Chain and make more money form Agriculture.
It is also instructive that the major policy points of the leading Candidates in the 2023 Elections is Agriculture and Agriculture Value Chain investment which will in turn create massive employment for all Nigerians.
