Mr Moses Aliwa, President, Golden Cocoa Growers' Association of Nigeria, has urged government at all levels to revive cocoa production in the country to help salvage the prevailing economic crisis.

Aliwa made this call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ilorin on Monday. Aliwa berated how farming was abandoned in the country by previous governments, since the discovery of oil.

According to him, government at all levels should do their best to encourage the youth to embrace farming, particularly cocoa production. This, he said, would go a long way to save the country from the current economic situation.

"We want government to also assist us by giving us little grants and loan that would attract youth to embrace farming. "We want government to get us genuine chemicals that can be used in cocoa farming," he said.

Aliwa also decried the inability of the farmers to get market for the produce, adding that government's intervention was necessary to boost agriculture and ensure food security.

Also, Mr Umogbai Benji, a trustee of the association, urged government to make improved seedlings available for the cocoa farmers in the country.

He added that the old cultivated specie was not good enough for the right percentage of production. He said there were varieties of cocoa that could produce within 18 months to replace the old ones that had been planted for long and thereby becoming aging.

According to him, government should encourage reactivation and establishment of cocoa gardens close to the farmers. "If every grower is sure of a good cultivation from cocoa seed garden, he will plant and expect a good harvest," he added.

NAN reports that other members of the association's Board of Trustee (BOT) also advocated for an inclusion of cocoa drink into the schools feeding programme of the Federal Government to encourage cocoa farming.

They also stressed the need for Nigerians to eat what they produce, adding that advanced countries were not joking with agriculture like cocoa produce, chocolate and cocoa drinks.