Oyo State Government has expressed its commitment and readiness to restore the glory of cocoa production as one of the state’s major economic pillars.
It has approved N3,030,292,472 for the establishment of Cocoa Rejuvenation Project, to be driven through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP).
The project is to be coordinated by Oyo State Agribusiness Development Agency (OYSADA) and International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA).
Information Commissioner Prince Dotun Oyelade said the approval was given at the State Executive Council meeting.
He said the state government was taking the initiative because Oyo State ranked fourth in cocoa production among the 18 cocoa-producing states in the country.
Oyelade said: ‘The state is also being proactive by taking the opportunity created by disruptions in cocoa production in major producing countries like Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire.
‘It is the intention of Oyo State to fill the supply void as a result of the production problems facing West African countries.
‘The Cocoa Rejuvenation Project, which costs two million, seventy-five thousand, five hundred and forty-seven dollars ($2,075,547), will be funded in three tranches over the next three years.
‘Additionally, the Council approved pound 50 million for Oyo State Health Care Initiative. This loan from the French Government, which Oyo State initiated about three years ago, was finally approved by the Federal Ministry of Finance in a letter dated November 10, 2025.’
He said the loan, intended for infrastructural upgrades and equipping state hospitals, among other purposes, had also been approved by the House of Assembly to enable the state government access the funds.
He added that Oyo State Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Policy was also approved by the Council.