A fire incident has affected Cocoa and Kolanut farms covering over 200 hectares of land valued at several millions of naira in Ikoro-Ekiti, Ijero Local Government Area of Ekiti State.
Chairman of the Ekiti State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Captain Sunday Adebomi (rtd), made this known during an assessment visit to the scene of the tragedy to ascertain the level of damage wreaked.
He listed other cash crops destroyed by the fire to include palm trees, orange trees, plantain, pineapple, cassava and maize.
The SEMA boss, who was accompanied by officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), said the report of the incident was communicated to his office by one of the affected farmers.
While commiserating with the affected farmers, the SEMA chairman promised that Ekiti State government would assist all the victims by giving them seedlings and chemicals as well as other relief materials, in order to cushion the effects of the inferno.
“Cocoa and kolanut are two cash crops that have given Ekiti national recognition, apart from providing economic supports to many citizens; and we cannot afford to lose the comparative advantage we have been enjoying on these produce,” he said.
Also speaking during the visit, NEMA’s Director of Operations in charge of Ondo, Ekiti and Osun states, Mr Olusegun Afolayan, said the fire incident, which affected about 40 farmers in the area, had rendered them jobless and losing their means of economic support.
“NEMA and the SEMA have jointly visited some of the affected farm settlements for an on-the-spot assessment of the damage. We have found that more than 200 hectares of cocoa and other cash crops plantations were destroyed by the inferno.
“I will forward the report of the inferno and the plight of the farmers to the headquarters of the agency and ensure that affected farmers get compensations.