REGENERATION FEES: OGUN BEMOANS NEGATIVE ATTITUDE OF COCOA FARMERS The Ogun State Government has described as a betrayal of trust, the non cooperation of some cocoa farmers in its forest reserves, particularly in Area J4 for their refusal to honour an earlier agreement on payment of some money into its coffers. This feeling of the government was made known at a meeting held between the State Commissioner for Forestry, Engr Ayo Olubori, his counterpart in the Ministry of Agriculture, Mrs. Ronke Sokefun and the cocoa farmers at the forest reserve. Speaking at the meeting, Olubori recalled that at a stakeholders meeting held earlier, representatives of the State chapter of Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria had willingly agreed to pay four hundred naira as regeneration fee on every bag of cocoa produced in the reserve to rejuvenate areas destroyed as a result of their farming activities. The Commissioner said overtime, government had lost over N60 billion resulting from the over 100 hectares of forest plantation damaged by cocoa farmers and illegal tree felling, saying that rather than asking the affected farmers to destroy the cocoa farms, government had magnanimously asked them to pay some tokens. “When government found out that over 100 hectares of forest land which was valued at about 60billion naira had been lost majorly to tree burning and cocoa farming within the forest reserve, you were the ones who agreed among yourselves to join government to replant the depleted areas by paying some token on your produce from the government reserves” Olubori remarked. Olubori said as against rumours making the rounds, cocoa farmers agreed to the terms of the agreement out of their own volition for regeneration of the vast expanse of forest plantation destroyed through cocoa farming. Speaking in the same vein, Commissioner for Agriculture, Mrs. Ronke Sokefun disclosed that following the intervention of Governor Amosun, the money had been reduced to three hundred naira per bag, expressing government’s displeasure at the continued destruction of economic trees within the reserve despite several pleas. Mrs. Sokefun reiterated the commitment of government to the development of agriculture as a tool for industrialisation; but noted that this should not be to the detriment of other sectors. The Commissioner added that both ministries would return at a later date to establish the boundaries of existing cocoa farms within the reserve and enjoined farmers to support government in its developmental agenda. “Be informed that the Ministries of Agriculture and Forestry work for the same government. We will be back to establish the boundaries of all cocoa farms in the reserve to ensure that no one establishes new plantations in the reserve anymore,” she said. Responding on behalf of other members of the Association, a cocoa farmer, Mr. Shittu Idris, pledged of their readiness to collaborate with the State government to achieve its mission to rebuild the State.
Posted on: Tue, 10 Sep 2013 19:16:54 +0000
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