Governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has said that revenues from Cocoa and other prominent farms produce in which Osun has
comparative advantages have great capacities to turn around the economy and
fortunes of the state if pursued with renewed vigor.
Aregbesola who stated this assured that
his administration will leave no stone unturned to make the state great
again, hence the recent investment and research into Cocoa production and
the focus on other areas of agriculture.
The governor stated that for the state to start on a good footing at
producing 'Cocoa Omoluabi', the state has enumerated and identified sixty
million active cocoa trees in the state.
Aregbesola, while meeting with Cocoa Produce Merchants in the state at the
Government House Banquet Hall in Osogbo, stated that with new cocoa
development initiatives in the state, there will be a new cash inflow
making the economy of the state prosperous.
He stated that the state has also gone further in her bid to boost cocoa
production and Agriculture with the signing of Memorandum of under standing
with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) on the
development of agriculture and production of massive food production as
alternative to reliance on oil sector.
The agreement according to Aregbesola involved releasing of 204.39 hectares
of land in Ago Owu Farm Settlement to IITA for the purposes of conducting
research and setting up demonstration farms for best farming practices.
IITA will also carry out cassava, plantain and other crops multiplication
including Cocoa as well as train the youths in the state in modern,
commercial and profitable farming.
Aregbesola emphasised that the state in her bid to increase Internally
Generated Revenue in Osun, government will establish commodity board that
will be supervised directly by the office of the governor to ensure that
Osun ranks among the best cocoa producers in Nigeria within the next two
years.
He told the produce merchants that the economic situation of the state has
been badly affected with the pillaging of the national treasury by the
previous administration.
Aregbesola added that the situation with the drop in oil prices and the
sharp reduction in the Federation Accounts from N1.2 trillion in 2012 to
N369 billion in November allocations shared in December 2015 has reduced
the running of government to little or nothing hence the need to look
inward in increasing IGR.
The governor noted that the state will soon bounce back with the
identification of sixty million Cocoa trees presently in the state, adding
that government henceforth will criminalise any action of farmers and
merchants that runs afoul of government laws on cocoa.
He pointed out that government will soon be registering all farmers in the
state for easy implementation of government policies on agriculture thus
giving adequate room for monitoring and giving the necessary support for
farmers.
According to him, "to show the people of the state that we are ready to
face agriculture squarely in Osun, I am establishing a commodity board that
will be supervised directly from the office of the governor.
"Our bags of cocoa in Osun will be branded with this; government will be
able to ensure that the quality of cocoa coming out of the state meets
international quality. When there was free money coming from oil, no
government was looking at what cocoa could bring to the economy; we are
back to the days where cocoa will be the main stay of our economy in Osun".
The governor emphasised.
Aregbesola hinted that Produce tribunals will be set up across the state
and that special colour will be given to vehicles that will be transporting
cocoa within the state.
The governor added that the State Executive Council meetings will be held
in rural areas where cocoa farming is thriving in the state for about six
months to one year after the formation of his cabinet.
Earlier, the Chairman of All farmers Association of Osun, Chief Raheem
Adeniji stated that the association is ready to partner and cooperate with
government in her bid to revamp the cocoa farming in the state.
He lamented the poor economic state the country has found it with the
neglect of cocoa which he said was the back bone of the economy in the 60s,
identifying the cancellation of Cocoa and marketing Board by the then
military government as a setback for the industry in Nigeria.
Adeniji commended government for introducing E-payment, adding that
government should ensure and maintain that Osun cocoa should not go out of
the state.
Written by NEWSTRAWL ONLINE UPDATE
Sodiq Oyeleke is a Media, Human Resources, Project Management and Public Relations Practitioner
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