Ayade Inaugurates 57-Man Cocoa Allocation Committee

Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State has inaugurated a new Cocoa Allocation Committee in Cross River State to oversee new allocation to allottees after sales of forms and report back by March 15, 2019.
Ayade, who was represented at the occasion by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Cocoa Development, Dr Oscar Ofuka, urged the committee members to be serious with the task assigned to them as the state was targeting annual production of about 500,000 metric tons and to become number one producer of Cocoa in Nigeria.
Ayade said that apart from increasing production output, his administration had built an Ultra Modern Cocoa Processing Factory in Ikom as a way  to bring value addition by processing the beans for export and to encourage Cross Riverians to plant Cocoa. 
He said the committee must drive the state’s policy of managing government- owned cocoa Estates maximally through transparent and equitable cocoa allocation exercise.
Among the terms of reference given to the committee were: sales of  forms to allottees and turning  in of  their report for final approval by 15 March, 2019; undertaking the verification of ocoa land in the four government estates; categorising the existing plots as to determine the lease fees payable to government per hectare; ensure that 70 percent of allottees are given to the landlord communities in line with the out of court settlement agreement amongst others.  
The committee’s inauguration which took place at the Conference room of the Cross River Agricultural  Development Project was attended by the CRADP Programme  Manager, Dr Chris Agaji and Director of Agriculture in the Ministry of Agriculture, Mr. Innocent Obim while the Chairman of the Cocoa Allocation is Mr Collins Ogar and Mr Richard Ada as Secretary as well as members of the public.

Friday Nwagbara, Calabar