AGRICULTURE: Cocoa Dominating Over Banana In Boki LGA

We have analyzed and explored the growing interest in the cocoa trade in Boki local government area, Cross River State.

Long ago Boki land was famous for its Banana plantations, its banana farmers and their rich yearly harvest. Its fertile soils conduced for the cultivation of the plant, which grew quickly and there was its banana loving population too, and the many who found jobs each year whenever the harvest drew near. Many of its sons became wealthy from the vast trade, some of which were conveyed to the far north. 

But now, all this belongs to long ago, and a lot has changed. Cocoa has since risen and replaced Banana as an important cash crop in the town and surrounding areas. 


There are some challenges in its cultivation, but it can be safely said that cocoa is rising in Boki. Today, unlike the past when the crop was very visible, the banana crop is to be found planted in between cocoa in many farms in the local government area. One crop replaces another in a silent non violent contest for power in the farms of Boki. If history of crops there were to be written, it will be an important narrative detailing   the cultivation of cocoa in an unlikely place. 

This is because people normally associate the cultivation of cocoa with the South west rather than the South-South. Indeed cocoa injected much life into the economy of the western region during the first republic. Boki then becomes a pleasant shock to the visitor who is visiting the town for the first time. Houses have been built from the proceeds of Cocoa, and children are been given an education.

There are so many mansions built from proceeds of the cocoa trade in Boki, and  the happy family dwelling therein. There are at least 5000 cocoa farmers in the Local Government today.