Stakeholders in the cocoa industry on Thursday in Lagos said Nigeria needs to develop large plantations that could make use of new technology systems, saying the industry needs funding if it is to compete favourably with those of other countries.
Nigeria is yet to maximise its potentials in land mass, manpower and potential market to hold its own in the global cocoa industry.
Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire boast of annual production of 700,000 metric tons and one million metric tons, respectively, while Nigeria produces mere 300,000 tons.
Speakers at a one-day Nigerian Cocoa Investment Summit with the theme, ‘Reviving the Industry,’ organised by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in conjunction with Nigerian Expanded Trade and Transport Programme (NEXTT), said the need to encourage processing along the cocoa value chain was essential for the country and this can be achieved by developing the local market.
Key recommendations agreed on at the summit include the need to modernise the scope of cocoa farming in Nigeria on a large scale, using improved planting materials and effective management of post-harvest operations. This, they said, will help small farmers expand, create jobs and wealth.
Kayode Faleti, senior programme manager, USAID Markets II, said less than one acreage was not sustainable, but that majority of farms in Nigeria was about this size or even less, adding that Nigeria could be the country to attract the big international investors into the cocoa sector, while emphasising the need to address the issue of small acreage by farmers.
Eduardo Tugendhat, the CEO of CARANA Corporation, which has led the growth of massive cocoa plantation in Peru, advised Nigerian policy makers and industry players to take advantage of new developments around the world to boost the capacity of the sector.
According to him, cocoa production has not progressed in any appreciable way technologically since the 19th century and that there was a need for funding for technology that creates the highest value for the market. He called for ways to aggregate the knowledge and capacity of farmers, either through the creation of nucleus clusters or establishment of alliances such as the successful African Cashew Alliance.
Revealing plans by the Federal Government to establish the Cocoa Corporation Board of Nigeria, Segun Awolowo, the CEO of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), said Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire have managed to leapfrog over Nigeria in quality and quantity of cocoa they produced.
“We need it and we are working to return this to Nigeria. When the Federal Executive Council finalised discussion on this, we will have a board that can regulate the industry and coordinate the efforts of all the players. The board will be public sector funded but private sector driven. An initial funding of $10 million to kick start its operation will come from the World Bank”, he said.
The global chocolate market is currently worth over $80 billion and around 3.5 million tons of cocoa are produced annually. However, the demand is expected to rise nearly 30 percent to 4.5 million tons by 2020. Although Nigeria is the world’s fourth largest global producer of cocoa, it is losing market share due to its small sizes farm, demographics and the age of its farms and for it to be competitive in the global market, experts say there must be a change in mindset from small-holdings to larger plantations.
