State targets position among Nigeria’s leading cocoa producers.

The Ekiti State Government, in partnership with the TRACE Project, has presented irrigation pumps worth about N10 million to 28 cocoa nursery operators across local government areas of the state.

The State Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Mr Ebenezer Boluwade, presented the irrigation kits in Ado-Ekiti, saying the beneficiaries had earlier undergone training on best practices in raising cocoa seedlings to boost cocoa production in the state.

Mr Boluwade said the state government had developed a 10-year policy plan aimed at positioning Ekiti among the top three cocoa-producing states in Nigeria.

He added that the long-term goal was to make the state the largest cocoa producer in the country, surpassing the record set during the era of late Chief Obafemi Awolowo in the old Ondo State.

According to him, the state would require about 10 million cocoa seedlings to achieve the target, which informed the decision to train and empower cocoa nursery operators to produce quality seedlings for farmers.

The commissioner commended the TRACE Project for supporting the state government’s cocoa development agenda and urged the beneficiaries to make effective use of the irrigation kits.

Earlier, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Mr Babatope Ojo, expressed appreciation to the federal government, the administration of Governor Biodun Oyebanji and the TRACE Project for the initiative.

He said the intervention would accelerate ongoing efforts to increase cocoa production in the state and advised the beneficiaries to use the equipment responsibly to improve their livelihoods.

A representative of the TRACE Project, Mr Adedigba Fisayo, said the project had trained and provided agricultural inputs to more than 15,000 farmers since it began operations in Ekiti State in 2022.

He added that Ekiti is one of six states selected to benefit from the project in Nigeria.

Mr Adedigba said the 28 beneficiaries were carefully selected in 2025 and trained as cocoa nursery operators to support the state’s plan to expand cocoa production.

He also cautioned the beneficiaries against diverting the materials for purposes other than those intended, noting that the project reserves the right to withdraw the equipment if it is misused.

In their remarks, the TRACE Project Desk Officer in the ministry, Mr Akerele Olalekan, and one of the beneficiaries from Ilumoba-Ekiti, Mr Onamadi Michael, expressed appreciation to the state government and the TRACE Project for the support.

They pledged that the beneficiaries would use the equipment effectively to support cocoa production in Ekiti State.