Groups Pledge To Assist Cocoa Farmers

The Ondo State Chapter of Farmers’ Development Union  and Tulip Cocoa processing say they plan to assist  cocoa farmers to improve their productivity.
The organizations said this was achievable following various steps being taken by  the groups to  improve the production of   cocoa farmers in the state.
Making the disclosure to newsmen recently in Ondo, the state coordinator of FADA, Mr. Victor Olowe, during the 2017 farmers day celebration called on the federal government to help the farmers by initiating programmes to boost cocoa production in the country.
The event, which was jointly organised by FADC and the TCP, drew participants from cocoa farmers in  the south-west geopolitical zone of the country.
Olowe identified scarcity of farm inputs, pesticides and funding as well as bad infrastructure, particularly roads as the major challenge facing cocoa production in the country.
“This programme is an annual celebration to bring our farmers together to assess their  performance in terms of production and sales in the last one year  and this is the fourth edition”, he disclosed.
Also speaking, the Managing Director of TCP, Mr. Simon  Conway-Jarret,  said the  event  was geared towards celebrating and honouring cocoa farmers in the company’s supply chain for their  commitment and outstanding performance in the 2016/2017 cocoa season.