The Cross River Government on Monday launched the first
phase of the nursery of one million cocoa seedlings in Akim/Osomba communities
in Akamkpa Local Government Area.
Gov. Ben Ayade,
who was represented at the ceremony by his Special Adviser on Cocoa
Development, Mr Oscar Ofuka, said that the project was part of his
administration’s efforts to make cocoa the largest revenue earner for the
state. He said that the location of the cocoa nursery in Akamkpa Local
Government Area (LGA) was to prove that cocoa could be cultivated in every area
of the state. “Today is a great day for the people of Akim/Osomba communities;
we want to prove to the world that Cross River is the largest producer of cocoa
in Nigeria.
“Cocoa is our
heritage and with the ongoing cocoa revolution programme in Cross River, we
have decided to look at every nook and cranny of the state to revive this
age-long heritage. “Very soon, Cross
River will not have to depend on allocations from the Federation Account to
fund our projects because our cocoa can give us the much-needed revenue to do
whatever we want,’’ he said. Ayade said that the state government, through its
Department of Cocoa Development, had already acquired 300,000 hectares of land
in the two communities for the project. “Right now, we have raised 800,000
seedlings nurseries and within the week, our one million target will be
achieved for the first phase,’’ he said.
The governor said
that the cocoa seeds for the nursery were acquired from the Cocoa Research
Institute, Ikom, adding that within three months, the seedlings would be due
for planting. Ayade said that the cocoa estate, which would be large enough to
accommodate a school and a hospital, would be provided with electricity, just
as in other cocoa estates in Ikom and Etung local government areas of the
state.
He urged the
people, especially the youths and women in the communities, to take advantage
of the opportunity to engage in farming to make life more meaningful to them. In his goodwill message, Prof. Augustine
Ogogo, the Dean of Faculty of Agriculture, University of Calabar, commended the
state government for deciding to revive cocoa production in the state. He
pledged that the faculty would be ready to partner with the state government by
using the cocoa estate for its practical sessions for students. He stressed
that agriculture was the most dependable revenue earner in the world, saying
that the era of oil revenues was fast fading away.
“Agriculture
remains the most stable revenue earner today because the era of oil is almost
over. I assure you that the faculty will partner with you and send our students
here for practicals,’’ he said. The head
of Akim/Osomba communities, Mr Boniface Offion, thanked the state government
for the project and expressed the hope that it would be beneficial to the
communities and the state in general. He pledged that the communities would
fully support the government’s efforts to ensure the success of the project.
NAN
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