By Julius Alabi, Akure
The Ondo State Government has profiled over 14,000 cocoa and oil palm farmers under a Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)-supported sustainability initiative, as it intensifies efforts to reposition the state for the global cocoa export market.
Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, who disclosed this on Tuesday in Akure, said his administration had stepped up measures to combat deforestation and align cocoa production with emerging international standards on sustainability and market compliance.
Speaking at the opening of the second FAO Participatory Informed Learning Approach Multi-Stakeholders Workshop under the GEF-7 Food Systems, Land Use and Restoration Impact Programme (FOLUR-IP), the governor said the state had set up a Strategic Committee on European Union Deforestation-Free Regulation compliance.
He explained that the initiative was aimed at ensuring that Ondo’s cocoa industry meets global requirements on deforestation-free production, agroforestry and restoration of degraded forest landscapes.
Aiyedatiwa added that a forest management committee had also been inaugurated to strengthen monitoring of forest activities and safeguard natural resources across the state.
According to him, the FAO-backed project, currently being implemented in eight local government areas, Akure South, Idanre, Ondo West, Ile-Oluji/Okeigbo, Owo, Odigbo, Okitipupa and Irele had significantly boosted sustainable agricultural practices and environmental protection.
He noted that, beyond profiling farmers, the intervention had delivered critical support, including the establishment of a Geographic Information System (GIS) laboratory within the state’s REDD+ Unit to enhance geospatial mapping and forest management.
The governor said farmers and timber stakeholders had also benefited from the supply of agroforestry and timber seedlings to aid the restoration of degraded forest sites.
He further highlighted capacity-building efforts under the programme, including training for extension officers and farmers on climate-smart agriculture, cocoa and oil palm production, agroforestry systems, and compliance with European Union deforestation regulations through polygon mapping and traceability.
Aiyedatiwa stressed the importance of integrated landscape management and sustainable food systems in ensuring food security and improving livelihoods, pledging increased state co-financing to enhance the programme’s impact.
Earlier, the FAO National Coordinator in Nigeria, Dr Nifesimi Ogunkua, called for deeper collaboration among stakeholders to promote sustainable land use, agroforestry and improved access to international markets.
She said FAO was providing technical oversight for the project while working with national institutions, including the Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria, which serves as the executing partner through the National Project Management Unit and State Implementation Unit.
Ogunkua noted that the global programme, spanning Africa, Asia and Latin America, seeks to transform food systems through sustainable agriculture, ecosystem restoration and improved environmental governance.
She described Ondo as a strategic player in Nigeria’s cocoa value chain, with strong potential to emerge as a model for climate-resilient and sustainable cocoa production, provided issues of land use planning, forest conservation and farmers’ access to land are prioritised.
The FAO official, however, cautioned that increased production would not translate to economic gains without compliance with traceability and certification requirements needed to access premium international markets.
In his welcome address, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Forestry, Leye Akinola, said the workshop focused on integrated landscape and land use planning, tenure systems, agroecological transition pathways, certification standards and participatory spatial planning.
He said the forum was designed to strengthen institutional collaboration and align stakeholders towards practical solutions for sustainable land use and environmental management.
Akinola commended the Federal Government, relevant ministries, research institutions and development partners for their roles in the successful rollout of the project in Ondo since March 2024, noting that the state was honoured to serve as its operational headquarters.
Also speaking, the Chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) in the state, Gbenga Fasua, assured that benefiting councils would provide the needed support to sustain the initiative.
Dignitaries at the event included the Deputy Governor, Olayide Adelami; Chief of Staff, Segun Omojuwa; government officials, traditional rulers and key stakeholders in the cocoa and oil palm value chains.