Lagos — Deputy Governor of Ondo state, Alhaji Ali Olanusi has said that the dwindling fortunes of Cocoa in the country in the last two years could be traced to the lackadaisical attitude of the Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources, Dr. Abba Ruma, who deliberately excluded the entire 14 states cocoa producer from the Federal Government largess on cocoa.

Olanusi who disclosed this in Akure, shortly after the maiden edition of cocoa convention organised by Ondo state, said that the Minister, who heads the National Cocoa Development Committee (NCDC) which coordinates the activities of the state cocoa development committees, has refused to call a meeting of the stakeholders in the last two years.

He lamented that the sum of N400million ear-marked for cocoa development in the 2009 budget, which the NCDC directed should be wholly utilized for cocoa processing was diverted to something else, adding that the same thing applicable to the #200 billion loan approved by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for agricultural development in which cocoa the nation's first cash crop, was excluded as beneficiary.

"It is indeed painful that throughout year 2009, there was no forum for us (cocoa stakeholders) to meet and discuss the issue because NCDC had either deliberately or inadvertently failed to summon a national meeting for close to two years now to deliberate on the future and fortune of cocoa in Nigeria," he added.

The Deputy Governor said it is regrettable that the NCDC is yet to reimburse Cocoa Producing States with money spent on the raising of cocoa seedlings for farm rehabilitation in year 2005/2006, just as he pointed out that the committee has failed to supply agricultural imputs to the producing states since 2008.

This chain of inadequacies according to him has affected the cumulative production of cocoa in the country." It in disheartening that cocoa production output, which was said to be at about 330,000 metric tones in 2006/2007, is now at about 270,000 metric tonnes.Cocoa which should be next to crude oil in terms of foreign exchange earning is being relegated to the background ostensibly on the alter of political expediency."

Against the background of all these accumulated challenges, Alhaji Olanusi said it has propelled the Cocoa Producing States to come together to have an in-depth technical analysis and general appraisal of "our peculiar problems on cocoa production and hoping to put in place appropriate implementation strategies of finding lasting solution to the numerous challenges."