Gov’t distributes 100,000 cocoa seedlings to farmers

From: Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

To boost Agricultural productivity, the Government of the State of Osun has distributed 100,000 cocoa seedlings to about 1,000 farmers in the State.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Chief Press, Secretary, Ismail Omipidan, and made available to the media in Kaduna yesterday.
The Government also distributed agro-chemicals, hand-spraying tools, limes, and other farm inputs to about 1,000 farmers across the Local Government Areas of the State.
The Government also inaugurated Osun Broilers Outgrowers Production Scheme III (OBOPS) to enhance the capacity of the livestock production and turn around the fortune of the scheme to be more profitable and attractive to farmers in the State.
The statement added that Farmers in each of the Local Government Areas across the State got 1,500 cocoa seedlings as priority was given to the Cocoa Producing Local Government Areas of the State.
This is even as the beneficiaries lauded the Administration for continuously prioritizing agriculture to retain its position as the mainstay of the State’s economy.
Speaking on the occasion, Governor Adegboyega Oyetola said Government’s efforts were geared towards actualizing its set objectives to reposition agriculture and make Osun the food basket of the nation in general and Southwest in particular.
He added that the initiative was designed to support farmers and cushion the effects of the erratic weather that occurred last year, which resulted in prolonged drought and flooding in different parts of the State.
Also, distributing the hundreds of thousands of the farm inputs freely to farmers at the Agriculture Demonstration Centre, Aisu, in Ede South Local Government Area of the State, Governor Oyetola noted that the initiative was aimed at actualizing the agricultural revolution agenda of the government.
According to him, the distribution of cocoa seedlings and other agricultural inputs is part of the Administration’s determined quest at revamping the State’s economy through the Cocoa Revitalisation Programme.
Oyetola, who reiterated the government’s commitment to turning Osun into the food hub of the Southwest said policies had been tailored towards ensuring adequate availability of fertile land, good roads, relatively good rainfall pattern, and above all to ensure peaceful coexistence between the herdsmen and the farmers.