The Group Managing Director of CapitalSage Holdings, Mr John Alamu, has called for accelerated investment in value addition to cocoa to address the declining price of the product in the international market.

Alamu also called for agricultural industrialisation as the defining strategy for Ondo State’s long-term economic transformation because of its place in the committee of cocoa-producing states in the country.

In his speech at the Investment Summit 2026, titled “The New Ondo: Forging the Pathway to Prosperity,” Alamu urged investors and policymakers to prioritise large-scale processing, manufacturing, and integrated value chain development as the foundation for sustainable growth.

According to him, although Ondo State possesses the agricultural depth, strategic positioning, and human capital required to emerge as a leading industrial hub, real prosperity will depend on the scale of investment committed to transforming agricultural output into higher-value products.