Ondo declares state of emergency in cocoa production

Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu
As part of the drive to ensure that Ondo State maintains its position as the leading cocoa producing area in Nigeria, Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu has declared a state of emergency in cocoa production.

Akeredolu disclosed the state government’s plan on the cash crop while delivering his welcome address to a delegation of the Yoruba Patriot Movement (YPM), a socio-political group, who paid him a visit in Akure, the state capital, recently.

While acknowledging that most of the cocoa trees in the state are ageing, the governor said there are plans to introduce different species of cocoa to replace the ageing ones and revive the dwindling fortunes of cocoa in Ondo State and Nigeria in general.

He urged farmers in the state to embrace all-year round farming in order to ensure food security, adding that there is an urgent need to restructure the federal system of government so that state governments can be empowered to do more to enhance the country’s socio- economic and political development.


He said that the concentration of powers in the centre had largely contributed to Nigeria’s nation-building problems.

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