COVID-19: Ondo cocoa farmers seek govt assistance

COCOA Farmers Association of Nigeria (CFAN) has called on government to put in place measures that would mitigate the effect of Coronavirus pandemic on the production of cocoa and the economy of the country.

The Cocoa farmers who expressed fears over the loss they may suffer due to the pandemic ravaging the globe urged governments to rise up and support all the cocoa producing states in the country.

The National President of CFAN, Mr. Adeola Adegoke, stated this during the presentation of 1000 hand sanitizers, 5000 nose masks and 3000 cartons of noodles to Ondo State government by Olam Nigeria Limited,

According to Adegoke, the Federal Government needs to intensify effort on the anchor borrowers scheme and see how they could increase capacity of an average peasant cocoa farmer in order to meet the 325,000 metric tonnes.

Adegoke noted that impact of COVID-19 on agriculture was more disastrous and killing than the virus itself, saying it would be difficult for the cocoa farmers to produce at optimal rate this year because the lockdown has disrupted farming activities.

He said over 350,000 cocoa seedlings grown with support from Olam Nigeria are in the field ready to be distributed but the lockdown has prevented farmers from moving to farm to commence farming activities.

He said: “Farming has been disrupted by the lockdown because there is no transportation. Labourers cannot go to the farm due to the principle of social distancing

“Farmers cannot buy input. You cannot do agriculture without inputs. It has impacted seriously in our activities.

“In 2019, Olam provided facilities for 100,000 cocoa seedlings and they were successful. We have 350,000 cocoa seedlings in the field ready to be distributed to Ondo cocoa farmers.

“Farmers cannot go to their farms. They don’t know who to meet with so as not to get COVID-19. They are in their houses. Going to the farms, they need agro -chemicals. It is having effect. I don’t think we will meet our 100,000 metric tons this year in Ondo. Olam is providing inputs.”

Speaking during the presentation, Branch Manager of Olam, Arun Karthick, said the firm donated the items which included hand sanitiser, nose mask and food items to cushion the effect of the Coronavirus pandemic on the people of the state.

He also disclosed that the firm has been supporting cocoa farmers, in various ways, saying over 8000 cocoa farmers in the state has benefitted from Olams gestures towards cocoa production.

He said: “We are impacting their lives on a day-to-day basis. We are helping them improve yields of the cocoa crops. With that, they will get improved income.

“We are making videos to educate them on ways to avoid COVID-19, We do radio jingles and through the community representatives we are reaching out to the farmers.

“COVID-19 is a global epidemic and causing a lot of havoc. It is time for companies to pick up their corporate social responsibility. We are giving back to the people where we have been working for the past 25 years.”

YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE

Buy and read digital replicas of your TRIBUNE titles by subscribing through E-VENDING

Clarence Peters Invited For Questioning Over Dancer, Kodak’s Death
Popular video director, Clarence Peters, Tribune Online gathered, has been invited for questioning by the Lagos State Police Command, over the death of dancer, Love Divine, popularly known as Kodak, who was electrocuted in his studio. Kodak, who is a popular dancer within the Nigerian music scene, allegedly died of… Read full story

MONDAY LINES: Death And Dying Emirs
DYING is nothing; choosing the right time to die, if we can, means a whole lot. This coronavirus season is a very wrong time to go – undisturbed. You die now, you leave importunate questions blowing in the air. The Emir of Kaura-Namoda in Zamfara State died on Sunday morning. Was he a victim of COVID-19, the current… Read full story

EDITORIAL: The Kano Mass Deaths
AMID the ongoing efforts to contain the coronavirus pandemic in the country, a strange cloud has enveloped Kano State. In the last three weeks, the state has witnessed massive deaths of people in very controversial circumstances. The deaths first became public knowledge following the release of a video clip… Read full story

JAMB Remits N3.5 Billion To FG For 2020
THE Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has made an interim remittance of N3.5 billion to the Federal Government consolidated account for 2020. This is in addition to more than N3.5 billion paid to candidates as reduction of cost of ePIN as directed by President Muhammadu Buhari… Read full story

CBN, Bankers’ Committee Suspend Lay-Offs In Banks
A special meeting of the Bankers’ Committee was convened on Saturday, to further review the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Nigerian banking industry a statement from Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) disclosed on Sunday… Read full story

Court Shuts Church Indefinitely In Abuja Over Lockdown Violation, As Pastor, Others Evade Arrest
A mobile court sitting in Jabi, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, on Sunday, ordered for an indefinite closure of The Shekinah Glory Church, located opposite the popular Citec Estate, Jabi, for violating lockdown… Read full story

COVID-19: 50 Almajiris From Kano Brought To Kaduna Tested Positive ― El-Rufai
Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State has said that 15 more almajiris that were brought from Kano to Kaduna have tested positive for COVID-19. This was even as he confirmed that the number of almajiris tested… Read full story

Remdesivir: What The NAFDAC DG Said
In a report entitled “COVID-19: We are not likely to use Ebola drug for patients — NAFDAC” published in the Sunday Tribune edition, we quoted the Director-General of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, as saying that remdesivir, the drug approved by… Read full story

Abducted Twins Of Oyo Cleric, Akeugbagold, Released After £100,000 Ransom Negotiation
After eight days of dwelling in the bush with their abductors, the twins of former Chairman of the Oyo State Pilgrims Welfare Board (Muslim wing), Taofeek Akeugbagold were released at about 5.30 am on Sunday. The twins were picked near the bush at around Mufutau Laninhun College of Education area on the Lagos-Ibadan… Read full story

Leading With Presence — 2
COVID-19 has changed the world and the way we do things. The changes it has brought upon humanity will be our new norm for some time to come. It is as if it was what the world needed to remind us that the only constant thing about life is change. Social distancing means we make less physical contacts… Read full story

Things That Won’t Change Post COVID-19 (Part 3)
This is the third piece I am penning on this life-changing subject that has started helping a lot of people in Nigeria and beyond. So far, I have written on three non-negotiable values that will not change post COVID-19: vision, loyalty and confidentiality. The fourth value I am writing on is that of assiduousness and… Read full story

Reflections On The Post-Coronavirus International Economic Order
THE novel coronavirus pandemic has been the biggest global economic shock since the 1929 Wall Street Crash. In fact, its ramifications might be even bigger, given that, unlike the 1929 crash, our world is today an integrated global marketplace… Read full story