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Abia State deputy governor, Ikechukwu Emetu has said the administration has targeted the cocoa value chain to improve the state’s internally generated revenue.
Emetu stated this while addressing the state’s newly inaugurated Cocoa Monitoring Team in Umuahia, the state capital, challenging the team to carry out its assignment diligently.
He expressed worry that as a leading cocoa-farming state, the potentials of the sub sector were yet to be fully harnessed hence the setting up of the team.
He argued that the administration was not only repositioning the subsector for revenue generation, but also making it a source of employment for the youths.
The deputy governor urged the team to not only end the smuggling of cocoa beans from the state, but to also ensure the culprits are arrested and fined accordingly.
In a response, the chairman of the state’s chapter of Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria, John Kalu said activities of the smugglers are detrimental to the economy of the state.
He assured that both the chapter and the team will collaborate with the administration to actualize the latter’s plans for cocoa farming in particular, and the agriculture sector at large.
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