Nigeria’s Cocoa Research Institute says it will disburse five million cocoa seedlings to farmers in 2021.
Board chairman, of the Institute ABDULLAHI Ja’o, who disclosed this to newsmen during a meeting of board Chairmen of all Agricultural Research Institutes in Abuja said Nigeria is heading towards cocoa revolution.
In 2020, Cocoa Research Institute distributed 10 million high-yielding and early maturity cocoa seedlings to genuine cocoa farmers across the country at no cost.
This is part of the federal government’s effort to revitalize the cocoa subsector and rebuild pyramids in Nigeria.
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The chairman, Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, ABDULLAHI ja’o outlined some of the challenges facing the subsector as lack of off-takers, storage and preservation facilities.
The executive secretary of the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria , ARCN, Garba Sharubutu, acknowledged that the cocoa Institute was not getting the right attention until lately.
He maintained that there are varieties produced but lack of off-takers has kept them from the market.
The ARCN Boss also urhed government to build vocational training centers in the 52 colleges of education, stressing that this will further help drive the vision of attaining food sufficiency in Nigeria.
(Editor:Abaje Usekwe)
