Gov Udom Assures Cocoa Farmers Of Better Incentives

Governor Udom Emmanuel

Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State, has said that his administration would continue to encourage cocoa cultivation in the state by providing incentives to farmers with at least five hectares.


The governor who  stated this  at the launching of Akwa Ibom Enterprise and Employment Scheme ( AKEES), said that if the state could cultivate a hundred hectares of cocoa, it will regain it’s ranking as one of the major producers of the crop.
“Akwa Ibom used to be the fourth largest producer of cocoa in Nigeria and we are ready to get back there.
‘’Our target, which is very measurable, is that in the next one and half years, we want to double current production.
“In the next three years, we expect to have up to 70,000 to 80,000 acres of cocoa plantation in Akwa Ibom. I am sure with that, we will rank among the first two in Nigeria”, he stated.
The state governor also explained that its commitment to undertake the cocoa maintenance and production scheme as well as coconut oil refinery was to ginger youths in the state to explore other avenues for economic growth through aggressive agricultural enterprise.
He said the state investment in that aspect of agriculture was because of their viable value chain as the price of cocoa and coconut oil remained higher than crude oil in the international market.