Ayade wins outstanding performance award in agriculture, tourism

Cross River state governor, Professor Ben Ayade  has won Cocoa Festival's nomination for the Award of Overall Outstanding Performance for Agriculture and Tourism for Sustainable Development.

The Award will be bestowed on Professor Ayade at the second Edition of the Nigerian Cocoa Awards scheduled to take place on April 3rd, 2020 in Lagos.

A statement from Eti Oni Development Group, EDG, organisers of the award, and signed by its chairman, His Royal Highnesses, Oba Dokun Thompson(the Oloni of Eti oni), said governor Ayade  was nominated for the Award in recognition of his strides in coca production which has encouraged  cocoa value chain development in Nigeria.

"This Award is in recognition of your administration's Agricultural strides which saw polices and activities that resulted in improved cocoa yield which placed the state (Cross River) as the second  largest cocoa producer in the country", the body told the governor.

Notedly, the Nigerian Cocoa Awards was Instituted in 2017 and holds every two years as part of the cocoa renaissance initiative  in the country.

It is championed by Eti Oni Development Group, home to the oldest cocoa  plantation in Nigeria.

The Cocoa Awards identify and recognize outstanding  contributions to cocoa development in Nigeria  by individuals, private or public agencies as well as NGOs with the view to encouraging recipients to do more for cocoa development and production in the country.