As part of measures to boost cocoa production, Cross River State Government has raised six million improved cocoa seedlings.
Mr Oscar Ofuka, Special Adviser to Governor . Ben Ayade on Cocoa Development and Control, explained on Sunday that with the six million improved variety Cocoa seedlings, the stage was set for the state to reclaim its rightful position as number one Cocoa producing state in the country.
Ofuka, who spoke at a ceremony in Bendeghe, Etung Local Government Area, where he was conferred with a chieftaincy title said: “This is what our governor has mandated us to do, to return Cross River to the position of number one cocoa producing state and to ensure that cocoa remained the mainstay of our economy””.
The special adviser said that Nigeria at large would benefit from the cocoa revolution going on in the state.
“I say this because, by the time we are through with what we are doing, Nigeria will overtake Cote D’Voire as the number one producer of Cocoa in Africa and the World, ” Ofuka said.
He, however, said that for the state to achieve the Cocoa transformation, more people should return to its cultivation. According to him, there is need for more government investment in the Cocoa Value Chain if the state is ready to change the narrative of over dependence on the monthly allocation from the Federation Accountnan
