KWARAPOLY broadens interest in commercial farming with cultivation of cocoa, palm trees

Stephen Oladele Ilorin

Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin, has stepped up focus on its commercial farming with cultivation of cocoa and palm trees

The school embarked on this cultivation just as it began harvesting of cassava tuber after it planted the crop alongside maize last year.

For its cocoa and palm tree plantations which it just began, the school has planted 1000 seeds of each of the crops.

Conducting newsmen round the farm on Thursday, the Rector of the Polytechnic,  Dr Mohammed Abdul Jimoh disclosed that N2m was expended on the seedling and planting of the cocoa and palm trees.

The rector who was accompanied by the school management team and staff of the department of food science and technology said the N2m was sourced from the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the institution for the seedling and planting of the trees.

He explained that while the palm seeds are planted in 9metres interval and to be ready for harvest in the next five years, the cocoa seeds are planted in 3metres and are expected to be ready for harvest in the next two and a half years.

Jimoh who said that the cultivation is being handled by a committee that include both staff and students disclosed that the planting of the seeds was done by adhoc workers engaged by the schools.

He said the institution would source for fund to improve a mini dam in the school beside which is the cocoa plantation to be able to serve the plantation during dry season.

The rector disclosed that the food science and technology department of the school would handle produce of the two plantations to churn out numerous finished products from them.

He said that the cassava being harvested is 25,000 kilo gram per hectares in 10 hectares and would be processed into finished products by the institution.