By Samuel
The Cross River State Government has revealed that it raised about six million cocoa seedlings of improved varieties to boost the state’s cocoa industry.
This move, it said, was part of its bid to increase the production of cocoa, as one of the priority crops of the state.
Special Adviser to Governor Ben Ayade on Cocoa Development and Control, Mr Oscar Ofuka made this disclosure to newsmen over the weekend in Bendeghe.
According to him, Cross River is set to reclaim its position as the number one cocoa-producing states in Nigeria, with this new development.
Ofuka further added that the country’s economy would benefit from the cocoa revolution going on in the state, even as investment in its value chain increases.
He said, “This is what our governor has mandated us to do, to return Cross River to the position of number one cocoa producing state and to ensure that cocoa remained the mainstay of our economy.
“I say this because, by the time we are through with what we are doing, Nigeria will overtake Cote d’Ivoire as the number one producer of Cocoa in Africa and the World”.
The SA also harped on the need for the state to change the narrative over-dependence on the monthly allocation from the Federation’s account.
He had earlier declared that the state’s cocoa sub-sector can become a major source of internally generated revenue for the nation’s economy.