By Fatima Muraina
Governor of Ondo State, Dr. Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, has called on cocoa farmers across the state to register and map their farms to enable the government implement targeted interventions aimed at significantly increasing cocoa production.
The governor, represented by the Head of Service, Mr. Segun Odusanya, made the call on Friday at the launch of the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Farm Input Support Programme, FISP and the distribution of 20,160 bags of fertiliser to farmers in Akure.
Aiyedatiwa said reliable data on cocoa farmers, farm sizes and production levels had become imperative for effective agricultural planning and policy formulation, stressing that the government could not design meaningful interventions without accurate information.
He said, “We need your data because data is very important for policy making. We cannot plan any intervention without reliable information on our farmers, the size of their farms and their production levels.”
The governor disclosed that his administration was developing strategies to transform the state’s cocoa industry by adopting best practices from Ghana, where cocoa farmers currently record average yields of about 1.7 tonnes per hectare, compared with approximately 350 kilograms per hectare in Ondo State.
He revealed that state officials would soon undertake a study visit to Ghana to understudy its cocoa production model with a view to replicating the country’s success in Ondo State.
Aiyedatiwa averred that understanding current production levels on individual farms would enable the government to develop appropriate programmes capable of increasing productivity and improving farmers’ incomes.
The Ondo helmsman also announced plans by the state government to distribute climate-smart cocoa seedlings free of charge to eligible farmers, noting that the initiative would be guided by verified data obtained through farm mapping and registration.
He urged cocoa farmers to submit the polygon maps of their farms as well as details of their farm sizes and the number of cocoa trees planted to enable government accurately target its interventions.
The governor explained that cocoa development should be carried out in legally designated free areas rather than forest reserves, adding that proper farm mapping would ensure that genuine farmers benefit from government programmes.
The governor spoke during the official flag-off of the distribution of 20,160 bags of fertiliser under the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Farm Input Support Programme, an intervention aimed at reducing production costs and improving food security.
Earlier, the Ondo State Commissioner for Agriculture and Forestry, Engr. Leye Akinola, described the fertiliser distribution as a timely intervention for smallholder farmers facing rising input costs.
He said the initiative aligns with the state’s commitment to agricultural development and food sufficiency under Governor Aiyedatiwa’s administration.
The commissioner noted that the state had continued to implement several agricultural initiatives, including livestock development programmes, climate-smart agriculture, rural infrastructure projects and farmer support schemes designed to boost food production and improve livelihoods.
Also speaking, the Federal Coordinator of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security in Ondo State, Mr. Rufus Agbanimu, urged beneficiaries to use the fertilisers strictly for farming, warning against diversion or sale of the inputs.
Representing the Executive Secretary of the National Agricultural Development Fund, NADF, Mrs. Adenike Ganiyu, said that the programme forms part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda on food security.
She disclosed that Ondo State received 20,160 bags of NPK and Urea fertilisers, with each beneficiary expected to receive four bags comprising three bags of NPK and one bag of Urea.
The event also featured the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), between the Ondo State Government and NADF to ensure accountability in the distribution of the fertiliser allocation.
Stakeholders, including representatives of the Ondo States chapter of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria, AFAN; the Ondo State Agricultural Commodities Association, OSACA, and the State Farmers’ Congress commended the Federal Government for the intervention and pledged that beneficiaries would utilise the fertilisers to increase agricultural production across the state.