Hon. Akinwale Abimbola Lawanson, the APC Oriade Local Government chairmanship aspirant, on Tuesday distributed free hybrid cocoa seedlings to farmers in his local government.
Lawanson, the Oriade Local Government chairmanship aspirant of All Progressives Congress (APC), while distributing the seedlings in Erè-Ìjèsà, said the programme is furtherance of Governor Isiaka Gboyega Oyetola commitment to the economic and agricultural growth of State Of Osun.
He said the distribution is a collaboration of BAYO AKINYELURE FARM OMOH IJESA with the state government of Osun state.
The honourable, who noted that cocoa had been the major source of income for people of Oriade for decades, said the seedlings distribution would help in reviving cocoa plantation in the area.
He said: “Oriade, we have both competitive and comparative advantage in agriculture.
“Specifically, cocoa has been the major income earner for us and as a fact, 60 to 70 per cent homes in Oriade were built with cocoa proceeds.
“There is no house in Oriade that do not have history of cocoa farming. Cocoa has produced many graduates more than any other vocation in the local government.
“So, what I am doing today is not to introduce cocoa farming to the people but to help the government of osun state to revive cocoa plantation in the constituency toward eradicating poverty and unemployment”.
Lawanson said his focus in the next three years is to join the state government in injecting 1,000,000 cocoa trees to the existing ones in order to replace the old ones.
He said that such initiative was a sustainable economic empowerment by the government of governor oyetola in assisting in reviving cocoa foundational farming for the people of oriade.
In his remarks, Mr Siyanbola Apata, said that the honourable effort would go along way to assist oriade farmers in its cocoa farming revitalisation programme.
Mr Apata, who commended the chairmanship aspirant for his initiative to make sure the cocoa seedlings get to the people that needed it.
Lawanson said government was working towards making the state the hub of cocoa plantation in South-West.
Mr. Olaosebikan who spoke on behalf of other farmers commended the chairmanship aspirant for the initiative.
Olaosebikan said the seedlings would go a long way to boost cocoa farming in the local government.
Hon. Lawanson stressed the need for the seedlings provided by Akinyelure farms and the government to get to the people that really needed it. I am not a politician that forgets that governance belongs to the people, we will fight for oriade people’s rights and deliver to them the dividends of Democracy.
