The Deputy Governor of Abia State, Chief Ikechukwu Emetu, has stressed the need for cocoa farmers and all stakeholders in the industry to work in synergy with the state government to harness the benefits in sector to the development of the state.
The Deputy Governor, Chief Ikechukwu Emetu said this during a meeting in his office with members of Cocoa Association of Nigeria Abia state chapter
Emetu, expressed the preparedness of the present administration in the state to implement policies that will benefit people who have the capacity to invest in cocoa in the state.
He said that the meeting with members of Cocoa Association of Nigeria Abia state chapter was designed to reach the grassroots and bring people out of poverty.
In his speech, the chairman Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria, Sir John K.Kalu while noting price differential as one of the factors contributing to the smuggling of cocoa seeds from the state to other neighboring states pleaded with the government to help Cocoa farmers by checkmating the activities of all the actors in the industry.
The event attracted the presence of the Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr. Cliff Agbaeze, Officials of the Nigerian Produce Inspection Services as well as members of Cocoa Association of Nigeria, CAN.
