Exercise to Reclaim Lost Forest Reserve Lands in Ogun Underway

The Ogun State government is set to embark on a re-demarcation exercise as part of measures to reclaim lands it had earlier lost to encroachers and illegal cocoa farmers within its forest reserves.

 

Commissioner for Forestry, Alh. Adebayo Fari disclosed this in Abeokuta at a meeting with stakeholders, pointing out that it would be carried out in Areas J1, J3, J4, and J6 Omo forest reserves.

 

It would be recalled that few months ago, the State government had announced that over 100,000 hectares of the total 137,000 hectares of land in Omo forest reserve had been encroached upon and depleted by some cocoa farmers.

 

He said it would also determine the original boundaries of the reserves, actual size of the areas encroached upon by cocoa farmers, stop further encroachment by the farmers and determine the limit of their operations.

 

Fari therefore urged fresh cocoa farmers to approach the State Ministry of Agriculture for land allocation, saying the forest reserves were strictly meant for cultivation of trees and other forest resources.

 

“Government would not fold its arm and watch some people in the State destroy the commonwealth of the whole state and any farmer who is interested in Cocoa farming should approach the Ministry of Agriculture for land. Farmers residing in the reserve are only permitted to plant food crops and not cash crops, he submitted.

 

On efforts to rejuvenate the forest reserves, the Commissioner noted that the Senator Ibikunle Amosun administration was already partnering with all stakeholders to embark on mass tree planting in the reserves.

 

He further disclosed that government had concluded plans to give free tree seedlings to timber contractors with strict instructions that they must regenerate at least 50 % of the portion allocated to them.

 

He warned that any one of them who failed to follow the instruction would have his allocation forfeited.