Rivers/Bayelsa Shippers Association (RIBASA) has advised states with the comparative advantage to intensify efforts to boost cocoa production.
The Chairman of the association, Mr Offon Udoffia, told newsmen in Abuja that increased cocoa production would increase the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) in the states concerned.
He said that cocoa had the capacity to rescue states from deficit and it was imperative for them to galvanise their economic policies for self-sufficiency.
“Ondo, Akwa-Ibom, Cross River, Edo and other cocoa producing states should invest more in cocoa production.
” These states stand the chance of driving viable economy derived from cocoa export than others, Udoffia said.
Citing Mataysia, Udoffia said that agriculture had the capacity to grow the Nigerian economy.
He explained that investment in cocoa would not only rescue the states from economic insolvency, but create jobs for unemployed youths.
According to him, state will not have to over depend on federal allocation if cocoa production and export are prioritised.
He said that cocoa had the capacity of being transformed into several finished products for economic stability.
During Nigeria’s First Republic, the Western Region was known for cocoa production.
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