By Nsan Ndoma-Neji, Calabar
The Special Adviser, SA, to Cross River State Governor Ben Ayade on Cocoa Development and Control, Ntufam Dr Oscar Ofuka, has distributed improved variety of cocoa pods to be used by farmers in the South senatorial zone of the state, to raise nursery.
This, according to the SA, would help in the increase of tonnes produced by the state, to give opportunity to the state to contribute it’s quota towards making Nigeria have her pride of place among nations of the world that produce cocoa, to boost her revenue earnings.
Distributing the improved variety of cocoa pods to traditional rulers in the South senatorial district of Cross River State at the Cross River Broadcasting Corporation, CRBC, Calabar demonstration farm yesterday, Ofuka stated that the initiative is in furtherance of the cocoa revolution agenda of Senator Professor Ben Ayade.
He said, “As oil dependence navigates the nation’s economy into dusk of uncertainty, Governor Ayade’s agro-industrial initiative has lightened the fuse for an explosive rediscovery of new economic opportunities for Cross River State and the country at large.
“This new economic trajectory of migrating away from non renewable, but exhaustive fossil fuel and gas to agro-industrial-driven economy, is witnessing a rebirth in Cross River State under the watch of Governor Ayade, who is interested in turning around the fortunes of the state.
“This novel initiative is sustained by the extant principle of comparative advantage and the state is set to take a lead among the comity of subnational governments by standing very tall in a highly competitive global market mostly now that cocoa maintains appreciative similitude value with gold.
“I call cocoa black gold, the new oil of Cross River State. I charge you all to go into cocoa cultivation and see if your lives and that of your generation yet unborn won’t be changed.”
Ofuka maintained that Ayade’s ingenious cocoa initiative, comes with a value-chain that has the potentials of taking many jobless youths off the streets, aside improving on the export value of the Cross River State cocoa.
Ofuka insisted that all over the world, cocoa remains one the leading cash crops which plays a leading role in the economy of many nations, stressing that it is a major raw material in confectionary industries.
He stated that cocoa remains one of the crops which is amongst items on the hotlist of global demand, adding that the installation of an ultra-modern Cocoa Processing Industry in Ikom by the Ayade administion upon kick-off, shall reduce poverty among young people to the lowest ebb.
Ofuka averred that in no time, industries whose major product is chocolate bars would leave the continent of Asia, America and Europe in search of the raw material that would be found in Cross River State, stressing that by so doing a lot of revenue exchange would accrue to the economy of the state due to the cocoa beans produced by farmers in the state.
He said, “From the bumper yield recorded at the Demonstration Farm at CRBC, Calabar, it has been sufficiently proven that the soil of the Southern senatorial zone of Cross River State does even far better in cocoa than the Central zone.
“Cross River State government has brought a new improved specie of cocoa known as the TC2, a hybrid between the Amazon and our local specie, with just 18 months gestation period, bio-genetically engineered by the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, CRIN.
“This specie is, usually, short in height, but with almost five times yields, as compared to our local specie.”
Ayade’s SA stressed that with cocoa, the effect of loss of oil rich Bakassi Peninsula ceded to neighboring Cameroon and subsequent loss of 76 oil wells by the state to a sister state of Akwa Ibom would no longer be felt, despite the fact that it’s painful.
In attendance were, royal fathers from Cross River Southern senatorial district, led by His Royal Majesty, Murray Munene Okon Eyo, the paramount head of the Efut Combined Assembly, as the Chairman of the event, amongst other monarchs.
The monarch ceremoniously, opened the Cocoa Demonstration Farm and immediately led the harvest of the cocoa pods that were later distributed to local farmers for nursery.
Ofuka, however, announced that the next zone where the event will take place is the Central zone, adding that the old specie of cocoa shall be replaced with the new-improved variety across the entire state.
He stressed that in a no distant time, Cross River State shall be reputed as the highest producer of cocoa in Nigeria to make the country rank with cocoa producing nations like Cote’Ivore, Indonesia and Brazil.
