Committee Seeks Reactivation Of Cocoa Industry

The Chairman, Ondo State Cocoa Revolution Implementation Committee, Dr Jibayo Oyebade, has said that repositioning the cocoa industry in the state would be capital-intensive.
Oyebade said in an interview with newsmen  in  Akure recently, that restoring cocoa production to its glorious past would involve research on cocoa seeds, replanting the trees and soil research, among other pre-planting activities.
He said that in view of the huge financial requirement, the state government would seek collaboration with other stakeholders.
“The trillions of naira needed is beyond us. We will tell the people what we want to do and search for help both nationally and internationally,” he said.
Oyebade said that it had become necessary to replace the ageing cocoa plantations with high yielding varieties.
The chairman said that the ‘Oda’ Cocoa Plantation, Akure, would be used as the pilot phase in repositioning cocoa plantation in the state.
He said the cocoa revolution was expected to boost employment opportunities, increase food production and economically empower farmers, among others gains.