By Olajide Idowu
Osogbo – Mr Moses Oladipupo, Chairman, Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria (CFAN), Osun chapter, on Monday urged the government to motivate the youth to embrace farming to boost cocoa production in the country.
Oladipupo made this call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Osogbo, on the backdrop on how government can increase cocoa production in Nigeria as an alternative source of revenue generation.
According to him, government should provide land because there are lots of youths that have money to start cocoa farming but could not access land.
“There are some, who are interested in farming, but they don’t have access to land or can’t acquire funding.
“The case of land acquisition for farming in Osun is even worrisome as government reserves in the state are being laid claimed to by some communities.
“This is making it difficult for farmers to make use of such land,” he said.
He said a lot of youths, who are willing to go into farming as alternative to white collar jobs, cannot even get land to practice or start-up their farming business.
Oladipupo said the most difficult step in becoming a cocoa farmer or any kind of farmer generally is land acquisition.
“A lot of the old farmers, who apply for additional land to expand their operations, too are having challenges let alone new entrants.
He also said that most cocoa farmers lack access to fund, which is equally affecting their output.
He, therefore, called on the government to make land available to farmers and also provide financial support to them.
According to him, this gesture would go a long way to boost cocoa production in the state and country in general.