Cocoa production in the country is expected to rise in September to its highest level in five years, MAUREEN AZUH writes
Nigeria’s cocoa production should hit
305,000 metric tonnes by September this year, which is the end of the
2013/2014 season for the crop. Industry watchers say the output will be
the highest in the last five years.
The nation is currently the fourth
largest producer of cocoa in the world, behind Ivory Coast, Ghana and
Indonesia, according to statistics provided by the International Cocoa
Organisation.
It was learnt that there had been an upward movement in the crop’s production in the country over the last five years.
Cocoa bean is also said to have increased
in price to N420,000 per metric tonne, up from N300,000 per metric
tonne about a year ago.
The Minister of Agriculture and Natural
Resources, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, said plans were underway to boost
cocoa production to 500,000MT by 2015, adding that strategies had been
put in place for the replacement of old cocoa trees and the provision
of seedlings for nurseries across the cocoa producing states.
According to the Chief Operating Officer,
Centre for Cocoa Development Initiative, and spokesperson for the Cocoa
Association of Nigeria, Mr. Robo Adhuze, the rise has been a gradual
process after a lull in the business a few years ago.
He said the output for 2011/2012 season
was 250,000 metric tonnes with a 10 per cent increase in the 2012/2013
season, which moved the production up to 270,000 metric tonnes.
“Last year, the challenge we had was the
drought that affected production and did not encourage farmers to
reinvest. But this year, we are hopeful because the revival came when
the rains started earlier,” Adhuze said.
Although there were reports that cocoa
production rose by 40 per cent at 370,000 metric tonnes in the 2011/2012
season, Adhuze said it was mere speculation, adding that the rise did
not occur within a short period but was rather a gradual process.
Experts note that before the discovery
of crude oil and its subsequent exploration, cocoa was the country’s
major exportable item, accounting for about 90 per cent of foreign
exchange earnings. But even after the oil boom, cocoa has remained the
country’s most important export after petroleum.
Currently, several states such as Ondo, Ekiti, Edo, Cross River and parts of Abia, grow the crop for commercial purposes.
Adhuze said the highest production before
now was the 300,000MT achieved in the 1970/1971 season, when the
country was number two in the world behind Brazil.
He said there had been steady increase in
output in last five years except in the 2011/2012 season when the crop
was infected by fungi diseases.
Cocoa production is calculated based on
the rain pattern from the main crop season, which starts from October to
February or March; and the light crop season from April to September.
The Chief Executive Officer, Spectra
Industries Limited, a cocoa processing company, Chief Duro Kuteyi, said
the increase in the last five years had largely been due to improved
seedlings.
“Definitely, there has been steady
increase in the production output of cocoa in the last five years. A few
years back, there were free seedlings given out; and as you know, when
there are incentives in the area of seedlings within one to two years,
they will start yielding results,” he said.
Despite the increase in the last five years, the country is still far behind other countries in terms of annual output.
For instance, Ivory Coast, which is
currently the largest producer of cocoa, is estimated to have been
hitting one million metric tonnes per annum in the last few years, while
Ghana produces between 900,000MT and 950,000MT, rising to 1.1 million
metric tonnes in 2011-2012, and falling again due to the fungi attack.
“Although Nigeria is experiencing a
consistent rise, it is not faring well when placed side by side with the
other West African countries that produce cocoa. Ivory Coast still
produces above one million metric tonnes and Ghana does between
900,000MT and 950,000MT. So, even if we are fourth in the world, we are
producing less than half of what they are producing,” Adhuze said.
He said the secret of the other countries’ upward growth in output had been consistent support from their governments.
The CAN spokesperson said, “Cocoa farming
is a good business but government’s support is usually not enough.
There is no policy on cocoa; what happens is that as a minister comes
in, he does whatever he likes and another comes in to do it in his own
way. There is no document to work with; no framework or procedure to
follow.
“During the cocoa board era a few years
back, farmers protested and many of them turned their farms to arable
farm land because there was no support and they constantly had to battle
to save their crops which affected production.
“By 1999 when the President Olusegun
Obasanjo’s regime started, Nigeria was doing just around 170,000 metric
tonnes per annum. We tried to get a framework for the industry during
that regime in late 2006, but by that time, people were more interested
in politics; so, it was not achieved.
“In the 2005/2006 season, there was cocoa
rebirth and people started planting in Osun, Ondo, Edo, Cross River and
some parts of Abia states; and all of these are just coming into
commercial production now; that is why we are experiencing this leap.”
The major challenges, according to Adhuze, have been funding and lack of information about what goes on in the industry.
“Those who finance the sector do not even
know anything about the cocoa value chain; so, they see it as any other
business. How we need to address this challenge is to have a cocoa
policy in the country; we have very little information regarding the
industry; so, a lot still needs to be done,” he said.
Source:punchng.com
Source:punchng.com