A Community leader, Chief Sesan Fabamise, on Sunday donated 10,000 cocoa seedlings to 100 farmers in Ijan-Ekiti, Ekiti, to increase cocoa production and to boost the economy of the community.
Speaking during the distribution of the seedlings in Ijan-Ekiti, Fabamise said his desire to embark on the mission was borne out of the determination to make Ijan-Ekiti the cocoa hub of Ekiti.
Ijan-Ekiti in Gbonyin Local Government in South Senatorial district of Ekiti, is renown for cocoa production.
Fabamise, a Cocoa farmer, said that the assistance would be on for five years.
He appealed to those who did not benefit from the current donation to be patient, adding that there would be other opportunities for them in subsequent years.
The farmer said, “I wish to inform you that the variety of cocoa seedlings being distributed is the CRIN TC-8 that matures in 24 months if adequately cared for.”
He said that the primary objective of the donation was to derive an optimum production of cocoa in Ijan-Ekiti every year.
Fabamise appealed to the beneficiaries to utilise the opportunity by tendering the cocoa seedlings very well, so as to turn the community to a centre for abundant cocoa production in Ekiti and Nigeria as a whole.
Distributing the seedlings, Mr Ayo Ashade, the Head, Project, Monitoring, Reporting and Remediation Office (PMRO) Ekiti office, Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk-Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), thanked the community leader for donating the seedlings.
Ashade said that the assistance would encourage and engage the farmers; generate adequate revenue; and create employment opportunities.
He said that if well nurtured, cocoa would be enough to increase the foreign exchange earnings of the country and would produce enough income for farmers.
Ashade urged the farmers to apply skills that would make their harvests more bountiful.
“There is the need to apply the knowledge and experience you have over the years and also do it in line with the current agricultural practices for the harvest to meet the cocoa market international standards, ‘’he said.
Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, Mr Johnson Olaniyi, appreciated the donation by Fabamise.
Olaniyi gave an assurance that they would nurture the cocoa seedlings for greater productivity. (NAN)
