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Tag: COCOA

  • Fresh breath for cocoa

    Fresh breath for cocoa

    The Federal Government’s goal is to achieve 500,000 million metric tons (mt) of cocoa through the rehabilitation of old plantations, expansion programmes and best agricultural practices. Some development partners have joined the government‘s  campaign  to  restore Nigeria to its past glorious position  through  empowerment programmes, reports  DANIEL ESSIET.

    When President Muhammadu Buhari urged cocoa stakeholders to step up efforts towards repositioning the industry, he did this because the country  had  lost its place among cocoa producing countries.

    Buhari, who was represented by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr Audu Ogbeh, at the first International Cocoa Summit at the Nicon Luxury Hotel, Abuja,  in August, lamented Nigeria’s fall from fourth to seventh position in cocoa production.

    He described the situation  as unfavourable to the nation’s economic growth.

    He said:  “Cocoa is the second largest foreign exchange earner for Nigeria after crude oil, and has generated over two million jobs directly and indirectly along its value chain. The sector has suffered neglect as a result of over reliance on crude oil. This led to a decline in the country’s annual production from 420 metric tonnes in the 60s to 192, 000 metric tonnes in 2015. The country is long overdue to make the shift from being primarily an exporter of commodities and raw materials to becoming an industrial economy.”

    The President called for a return to the use of the hitherto abandoned Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP) launched by the previous  administration in 2014, to revive the sector. Nigeria was a leading producer and exporter of cocoa. Until some time in the 1970s, it held an enviable record.

    Revenue  from cocoa helped to sustain the livelihoods of not only farmers, but the entire citizenry, as proceeds were used to build roads, schools and health facilities. But the story is different today. Ageing trees, poor soil quality, and a younger generation in danger of disengaging from cocoa production represent an imminent threat to an industry that had struggled to develop significant productivity-per-hectare.

    The changing weather and poor incentives to farmers combined to reduce cocoa yields from that period to the present day. Today,  the industry is seriously challenged. But, in spite of this, a huge market exists for raw and processed cocoa and its derivatives, locally and internationally.

    Analysts say the global market for chocolate and cocoa beverages is worth over $200 billion yearly. According to them, the beans are the goldmine of the cocoa plant because they are processed into cocoa liquor, cocoa butter, cocoa powder, and chocolate.

    Markets for Nigeria’s cocoa exist in European countries, such as Netherlands, France, Germany, the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US) where demands for chocolate are high.

    All hopes are not lost as  industry  partners have commenced moves to revitalise the industry. One of them is the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), which has mapped out strategies to empower cocoa farmers.

    The intervention is being carried out through its Market Development in the Niger Delta (MADE) platform, designed to build Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) at farmers’ level through relevant and accessible training initiatives, which improve  efficiency, ‘bankability’, and sustainability of food production.

    MADE is partnering Syngenta, an international biotechnology company, that has been involved in key transformation projects in agriculture.

    The partners are  working with cocoa farmers on good agricultural practice, post-harvest solutions and market linkages.

    Right now, pests and diseases are a big problem for cocoa farmers. It is estimated that approximately 30 to 40 per cent  of all potential cocoa production is lost to diseases and  pests globally.  Cocoa farmers face a variety of fungal diseases and insects/pests, which attack the leaves, stems and pods.

    These include black pods, witches’ broom, frosty pod, pod borer and brown cocoa mirid.

    Indeed, tackling these pests and diseases has been an issue for some farmers, who lack adequate knowledge on responsible pesticides usage.

    This has affected the fortunes of some of the farmers as European Union (EU), a big  export market for the produce, insists on limited and proper pesticides use.

    But there are chemicals permitted for use on cocoa, which meet EU’s requirements. These are what some development partners are trying to promote.

    At a cocoa stakeholders and farmers’ field-day event, organised by Syngenta Nigeria Limited, in Adejubu, Araromi Igbatoro and Akure North of Ondo State, the company promised to supply cocoa farmers with a new non-copper fungicide called ‘Pergado’, to combat copper based fungicide diseases.

    Pergado, which is already in use in Côte d’Ivoire, has been approved by the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN).

    Syngenta Nigeria Limited Country Director, Sunny Ameh,  said the organisation had in the past three years trained over 16,000 smallholder cocoa farmers across states with support from MADE Project.

    Ameh said Pergado is a copper free product used to combat blackpod and other fungal diseases affecting cocoa production, with the potency to fight copper based fungicide diseases. He added that once farmers experience the efficacy of the product, they will have an edge on cocoa producing farmers in other countries.

    He added that Syngenta is committed to supporting cocoa industry revival in the country in order to reclaim its position as the top cocoa producing country in the world.

    He said: “Syngenta has been working with development partners  such as MADE in Ondo in agric input value chain, promoting the adoption of new technologies, delivering higher yield, and training farmers to develop the right skills.

    “Our partnership with MADE in the Niger Delta is so unique in the sense that it has helped us to reach more farmers at the grassroot. We are helping farmers to engage superior and best practices that are of benefits to them and helping them to achieve much more from their traditional practices.”

    MADE Team Leader, Olatunde Oderinde, believed empowering the farmers was an important way to free  them from poverty and hunger.

    He said: “MADE wants to see more ownership from our famers. We want our farmers to take ownership of our work with Syngenta. We want the farmers to lead the pilots in the field.”

    Oderinde said his organisation is looking forward to partnering government and cocoa farmers to make the business successful.

    Some farmers, who attended the event, expressed optimism about using Pergado.

    They expect the chemical to help limit losses of about 25 to 45 per cent often experienced by cocoa farmers owing to diseases.

    Highlights of the event featured a field tour of some cocoa plantations for product testing.

    Director/Head, Cocoa Research, CRIN, Dr  Rasheed Adedeji, said the decision by the institute to certify Pergado, is hinged on the quality of the chemical and its potency of taming diseases, especially the cocoa black pod disease which is very aggressive in wet and humid conditions and spread mainly by rain splash.

     

  • Cocoa in a world of global environmental changes

    Cocoa in a world of global environmental changes

    The cocoa sector in West Africa is facing many well-known problems. That is a fact. And we all acknowledge those problems. Only by joining forces can we solve the challenges and contribute to sustainable growth and development of the cocoa sector. Succeeding in this, will result in increased farmer profitability, economic growth in West-Africa and reduced negative environmental impact.

    About 70% of global Cocoa supply is produced in West Africa by smallholder farmers. Productivity is low, trees are old and farmers are using old-fashioned methods. Farming efficiency is a huge issue. Agriculture with low productivity is a very important driver of deforestation. Production areas need to be replanted with improved varieties. There is a lack of availability of proper fertilizers and other inputs, knowledge on cocoa agronomy and best management practices is lacking. Climate change threatens production, but we can also say that production threatens to contribute to more climate change, through for instance illegal deforestation. And if you look at it this way, the future can look quite grim. However, I am an optimist – and I believe in knowledge sharing and collaboration.

    In Yara, we have put sustainability and farmers at the centre of our business strategy. Not just because it is the nice thing to do, but because it is the wise thing to do. For example, if farmers improve productivity in a manner which destroys the natural resources base, it will not be sustainable over time neither for them nor for us as an input provider. So let us create growth and cocoa sustainability– in a responsible and inclusive way – for our businesses, the farmers and for society at large.

    To succeed in doing this, however, we need to work together. Government buy-in and leadership is absolutely vital. Progress will not be sufficient if companies along the value chain continue to work individually in pursuit of parallel but separate strategies. Real and transformative change will require what Howard Shapiro from Mars has coined “uncommon collaboration” between academia, government, non-government, industry players and farmers in tackling global challenges- and where the cocoa farmer is put first.

    On the picture below, is cocoa farmer Konfe Sidy from Côte d’Ivoire. Through more modern and sustainable methods, he has been able to increase the yields almost ten times. This has enabled him to create a small business, feed his wife and 3 year old daughter as well as his extended family who live with him. He has even build a new house. Of course, this is small scale. But imagine what the impact could be if we aggregate this to thousands of cocoa farmers.

    Cocoa farmer during harvest
    Cocoa farmer

    We must make production of cocoa more efficient. Producing more with less, meaning more output based on less input. Increased efficiency will improve forests, diversity and cocoa farmer livelihoods in West Africa. I believe we can succeed if there is a sufficient will and we put ourselves in the correct frame of mind. The chocolate industry has already paved the way with CocoaAction. In Yara, we have for a long time recognized that we need look beyond our own sector, broaden our perspective and find ways of working with a range of different partners. We have decided to engage beyond our own interests and contribute to the sustainable cocoa productivity challenge by bringing our unique crop nutrition competence and to form alliances involving partners ranging from UN Environment the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to key companies and organisations in the chocolate industry.

    The result so far is a public-private research and development partnership which aims to address critical gaps in the knowledge base required to close cocoa yield gaps and deliver this knowledge to cocoa farmers. I truly believe that this partnership can bring the best of science to tackle the major problems to the service of the smallholders and the cocoa producing countries.

    The time to make cocoa production more sustainable is now. Some of the tools and strategies already exist. Through “uncommon collaboration” we can not only turn cocoa around but also lead the way.

    This week representatives from national agricultural research and extension organizations of the major cocoa producing countries in Africa together with key companies and organizations in the cocoa industry will be gathered in Abidjan. The main purpose is to discuss how science can work together with the chocolate industry players to bring the best science to tackle major problems to the service of the smallholders and the cocoa producing countries. It is all happening in the context of the 7th African Green Revolution Forum. Under the leadership of the Government of Cote d’Ivoire, the 2017 AGRF is shaping up to be the most important agricultural platform on the continent for 2017.

    As Yara, we are ready and prepared to work with others to improve the knowledge base required to close cocoa yield gaps and deliver this knowledge to cocoa farmers – and we know we cannot crack that nut alone.

  • Cocoa cop out

    Cocoa cop out

    •Cocoa processors lament decline; so much for diversification

    The sharp decline in crude oil prices late 2015 and the attendant economic downturn in the country were enough reasons to migrate from Nigeria’s oil mono-economics and explore alternative resources. This was exactly what the government of President Muhammadu Buhari determined to do.

    The buzz words were diversification and alternative sources of revenues in the face of oil price slump. Agriculture and solid minerals were top on the agenda. But agro business was on the front burner as Nigerians were urged to return to the farm and to also look to agro-processing as viable alternative to shrinking state cash. One state governor had to declare Friday work-free to allow civil servants attend to their farms.

    But all these may well be mere sound bites. Not much has changed; not even the government’s agric policy which was touted as an augmentation of its predecessor’s programme has made much difference. President Buhari had vowed to develop the agric sector and ensure food security but so far, those seem like mere speeches.

    As a first test, the agric budget remains poor, falling far short of all internationally accepted indices. The current agric budget is just about three per cent for a population of about 170 million. This is a far cry from the Maputo Declaration which recommended that for African countries to forestall food insecurity, at least 10 percent of budget be devoted to agriculture.

    The result in the last two years is that prices of foodstuffs have skyrocketed, with shortages experienced in some perishable products like tomatoes and pepper. Major staples like rice, poultry products and fish are still largely smuggled through the land borders. Major industries still import basic agric raw materials like maize, wheat and palm oil.

    Though several funding schemes have been introduced, appreciable impact has not been made. Apart from rice production which enjoys Central Bank of Nigeria’s direct intervention, no other product has shown sign of improved funding support. However, while there are increased activities in rice production and processing, the impact has not reflected much on price yet; a lot more needs to be done to develop the entire value chain in a sustainable manner.

    One key index of the fact that agriculture has not received the requisite attention is the fate of cocoa processors in the country today. The Cocoa Processors Association of Nigeria (COPAN) has lamented that if government continues to remain nonchalant to their plight, they risk becoming extinct.

    They claimed that out of the eight processors operating in Nigeria, six which are locally owned are burdened by huge bank loans of about N50 billion. They explained that the foreign firms thrive because they source funds abroad at single digit interest rate while they, their Nigerian counterparts, have to grapple with commercial loans with interest rates ranging between 23 to 27 per cent.

    We expected that in the much-vaunted attempt to diversify the economy, cocoa, which is known as the king of cash crops would be the natural recourse for Nigeria’s various governments. But apparently government has only been long of talk but short on taking concrete and sustained action.

    Going by COPAN’s lament, hardly anything has been done along the cocoa value chain. The chairman of COPAN who is also the managing director of Cocoa Products (Ile-Oluji) Limited said: “We are looking for a government that will listen, that will come out with a policy targeted at developing our economy. The economy of this nation can only be developed through agriculture and the factor of development in agriculture is through industrialising agriculture by encouraging value addition and local consumption.”

    Cocoa is key to diversifying Nigeria’s economic base and we are nonplussed that the government has not taken a rigorous and sustainable step towards overhauling and driving the cocoa value chain. We urge government to not only support the processors but to urgently move to restore Nigeria’s glory as a major in the global cocoa market.

     

  • Hard times hit cocoa farmers

    Hard times hit cocoa farmers

    These are not the best of times for the cocoa industry. Hit by falling prices, oversupply and debts, cocoa farmers and processors are in dire straits. This may lead to a cut in supply, writes DANIEL ESSIET.

    Cocoa is important to the consuming and producing countries. According to the World Cocoa Foundation, more than three million tonnes of cocoa beans are consumed worldwide annually. Globally, at least five million smallholder farmers work on cocoa plantations, providing jobs for roughly 40 to 50 million people. The overall chocolate market, which main raw material is cocoa is worth $101 billion.

    But all is not well with the industry. A key indicator is the fall in price, which has affected cocoa farmers since last year. Indeed, prices have suffered their sharpest fall in years, piling pressure on hard-pressed farmers.  Since last year, prices have plunged on expectations of the bumper crop.   For instance, the price dropped to $1,780 per tonne. This year  for instance, cocoa has traded at £1,562 per tonne, its lowest level since 2013.  New York futures slumped to $1,869 a tonne on March 2, the weakest price in 9-1/2 years. Between July 2016 and March 2017, global cocoa price fell by more than a third. According to experts, the cocoa market has been on a wild ride over the past year.

    Giving the reason for the drop, Euromonitor, a market research firm, noted  that the market has stagnated in Western Europe, in part due to increasing health concerns about sugar — which is present in high volumes in most chocolate confectionery.  Also, there is a forecast that  prices will continue  to drop  till 2019, as supply grows faster than demand. The International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO) forecast  a global surplus of 264,000 tonnes in the current 2016/17 season, but  some players   forecast surplus substantially above the ICCO – more like 400,000 to 500,000 tonnes.

    At the receiving end of this negative development are farmers and exporters from West Africa, who are losing billions in export earnings due to the fall in prices. Incidentally, supply of cocoa is extremely concentrated in the sub region. Roughly, three quarters of global production is grown in West Africa with Ivory Coast, Ghana and Nigeria.  While a certain degree of volatility is expected, the price plunge revealed serious pain points in the cocoa value chain.

    Caused by massive oversupply, the global glut, according to President, Cocoa Association of Nigeria (CAN) Sayina Riman is detrimental to the production of cocoa with high price fluctuation.

    The significant cut in the export price, he noted,   hurts production, and affects cocoa production. Riman’s worry is that the price volatility will leave a bitter taste in the mouth of many farmers and processors.

    Instead of exporting to face a price backlash at the international market, CAN President, advised local  farmers to apply the brakes and produce  for local consumption by supplying local processors.

    Already, to encourage local consumption, Riman said his organisation is running programmes to help increase productivity, competitiveness and quality.

    For experts, high price volatility has had a considerable impact on the livelihood of farmers and made it very difficult for all market participants to decide whether to invest in the value chain or not. Besides price, other factors, such as weather patterns, pests and diseases, cost of land tenure, transportation and input influence the income of a farmer.

    This is not enough. Right now, also, the   cocoa processing segment has been choked by a N50 billion debt it owed commercial bank operators in the country.

    This has led to a decline in the country’s value addition in recent years and resulting to a $2 billion annual loss, industry sources said. Key players in the industry said unless there was a well-defined policy for processing of agricultural commodities, the country would continue to export and lose revenue it would have generated through value addition.

    “Most of the indigenous cocoa processors are really under the heavy weight of debt and that is why none is operating at full capacity today. The total debt in the industry today is not less that N50billion among six processors,” said Chairman, Cocoa Processors Association of Nigeria (COPAN), Akin Olusuyi, during a press briefing in Lagos recently.

    He continued:”We have a total of eight cocoa processing firms in the country with only 2 functional. The two that are functional now are foreigner owned. There is no indigenous processor that is functioning now as we speak,” said Olusuyi, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of Ile Oluji Nigeria Limited.

    Total installed capacity of cocoa processing plants in the country, according to him, is 270,000 metric tonnes, but cumulatively, the industry is operating below 15 per cent capacity. Nigeria, the world’s fourth largest cocoa producer and supplier, saw the value of its global supply decline by 23.4 per cent from 248,000 metric tonnes in 2014 to 190,000 tonnes in 2015, according to the International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO) in its latest data on global production.

    According to COPAN, the debt incurred by the industry was as a result of the harsh operating environment in the country and the inability to secure loans at single digit interest rate. “An average borrowing cost to any cocoa processors by any bank in the country is 25 per cent interest rate, when processors in Ivory Coast and Ghana obtain loans at single digit. How can we be competitive?” asked Executive Director, FTN Cocoa Processors PLC, Akin Laoye. Adding:”We are yet to access the EEG that was designed to cushion structural misalignment in our economy since 2013. Since last year we have been given approval by NEXIM and our banks, but we are yet to get it.”

    According to Olusuyi, the government has failed to provide a clear cut policy direction as to what it intends to do in terms of industrialising the economy through processing of agro commodities.”This why our agriculture has remained at the rudimentary stage because the active players that take the commodity from the farmers do not add any value by processing it,”he added.

    He noted that Nigeria cannot develop without developing agriculture to include processing. “The direction to economic growth is industrialisation and not the exporting of raw agric commodities,” he further stated.

    Similarly, another challenge facing the sector is the crisis rocking the 65,000 capacity Multritrex Integrated, the country’s largest cocoa processor, which has cut industry production by over 26 per cent, according to calculations. Multritrex was shut down by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMNCON) over N5 billion debt.The company officials said though firm had been handed over to a new receivership, production was at the peripheral level. “Since AMCON took over Multitrex Foods, nothing meaningful has been achieved. The best option is to work out a plan so that the business can continue,” Olusuyi said.

  • Nigeria’s cocoa purchases slow on low bean weight

    Nigeria’s cocoa purchases slow on low bean weight

    Purchases of Nigerian midcrop cocoa have slowed following a high incidence of beans that failed to develop fully and the relative low weight of matured ones, buying agents in the main cocoa-producing southwest region have lamented.

    The late arrival of rains in the critical early months of the year resulted in lots of beans that didn’t fill up their shell, also known as “flat beans,” Benjamin Adeyera, a cocoa-buying agent, said by phone from Ile-Ife, Osun State.

    Most recent purchases were in the range of 230 grams to 240 grams per 100 beans, compared with the usual 260 grams to 270 grams, he said.

    “Most exporters are no longer advancing money to buying agents because of the high prevalence of such beans,” Adeyera lamented.

    Nigeria has two cocoa harvests including the smaller midcrop from April to June and the main one from October to December. The country is ranked seventh among global producers after its output estimate for the 2015-16 season was lowered to 190,000 metric tons from 270,000 tons by the International Cocoa Organisation (ICO).

    Some of the low-weight cocoa already purchased are likely to end up in warehouses for blending later in the year with the bigger beans produced by the main crop, some exporters interviewed on May 19 said.

  • ‘Ikom people should be more involved in the cocoa business’

    An aspirant to the chairmanship of Ikom local government area in Cross River State, Mr Ogar Ebolom, has promised to ensure the people of the area get more involved in the cocoa business if he wins the council elections.

    Ebolom said it was unfortunate that the local government area which is notable for cocoa farming; yet the people of the area were not as involved in the money spinning business as they should.

    The 35-year old graduate of Geology from the University of Calabar, said if given the opportunity to serve as chairman, he would besides reinvigorate the involvement of the people on cocoa business, also boost the Internally Generated Revenue potential of the business.

    Ebolom, who said he was a businessman, said it had always been his desire to be chairman of the local government.

    “As far back as 2011, I was chief protocol officer and SA on International donor support to chairman of Ikom local government area and in that position I was able to liaise with an international donor to attract projects to my community, whereby the grace of God we have a standard six classroom block, a culvert and VIP toilets for my community.

    “I have decided to contest the forthcoming local government election. It has been a dream for me since I was far younger. I am 35 now. So as I talk today, the decision is something I have always dreamt up. If given the opportunity I would serve my people well and leave a lasting legacy.

    “Considering the dwindling nature of funds made available to local governments, you have a lot of donor agencies that government at that level can liaise with to attract a lot of meaningful development to their constituency or to their people. SA, I was able to carry my people along and convince them why they should take counterpart funding in that project and when they did they were happy. We didn’t have a secondary school before in my community. But as we speak now, we have a standard six-classroom block.

    “As a businessman I have the mentality of always wanting to succeed and I think if I am given the opportunity to be chairman, I would bring the business mentality to running the local government as it is. Considering what we have in Ikom, it is supposed to be the business hub and economic nerve centre of Cross River and as chairman, want to have Ikom local government listed among the committee of local governments across Nigeria. So when you are talking about local governments like Okrika, Warri, Onitsha and some local governments in Lagos State, I think Ikom should be listed among them. We have cocoa in Ikom. On year basis several billions of naira enter Ikom as a result of the cocoa trade and our people in Ikom have not been able to be part of this business. 90 percent of the funds that enter the local government is ferried out. I would make us part of the business. I would harness the IGR part of this business. The time has come when a local government can sustain itself by improving its IGR. To see how the IGR can be beefed up and used to develop Ikom and not just waiting for what you get from the Federal Government,” he said.

  • Govt, group move to boost cocoa production

    Govt, group move to boost cocoa production

    The  Federal  Ministry  of Agriculture and  Rural Development is to join the Federation of Agriculture Commodity Association of Nigeria (FACAN) to  raise cocoa production to 1.2 metric tonnes  yearly.

    FACAN President, Dr  Victor Iyama told The Nation that the Minister, Chief Audu Ogbeh, at a meeting with the group in Abuja promised to give out free seedlings to enhance cocoa production.

    Iyama said the Minister  expressed concern that Nigeria with its size has not been able to produce more than 200,000 metric tonnes of cocoa a year.This was disappointing compared to Ghana that produce one million tonnes of cocoa.

    To reverse this, Iyama said the Federation was in support of the government resolve to increase annual output of the commodity within the next couple of years.

    He urged the government to support FACAN campaign to train farmers on best agronomic practices, assist them to rehabilitate their farms, renew farms through complete seedlings replanting or canopy substitution through grafting of aged trees.

    Added to these, Iyama, mentioned is the retaining of input – fertilizsers, herbicides, tools and irrigation system.

    He spoke of the need to ensure a more productive and sustainable cocoa sector – free from poverty and human rights issues, if the nation was to continue to supply more cocoa beans and to remain competitive in the global market.

    FACAN, he said, was  ready to provide practical guidance by teaching farming practices that will lead to higher yields, offering entrepreneurial ideas for the non-harvesting season to insure year-round earnings.

    Meanwhile, the  African Development Bank (AfDB) and the International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO) have repositioned themselves to boost business opportunities in Africa’s cocoa sector, including youth employment and empowering women participation.

    The two institutions met in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, to strategise for cooperation to foster the transformation of the cocoa industry in Africa. A statement said cocoa is one of the five Cs (cocoa, coffee, cotton, cassava and cashew) that have been selected for support under AfDB’s new Agriculture and Agri-business Draft Strategy. Africa produces 73 per cent of world cocoa, with more than 70 per cent coming from Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon and Nigeria.

    It is a major export earner, yet its production is still in the hands of ageing smallhold farmers with more than 70 per cent productivity losses as a result of numerous challenges.

    The statement noted that the processing and market are in the hands of foreign investors.

    While global cocoa production is valued at approximately $12 billion on the export market, with cocoa farmers receiving about $ 8 billion in revenue, the world chocolate market is valued at $110 billion.

    The statement indicated that chocolate value addition in warehousing and other logistical services, chocolate production and packing, retail networks, and all associated logistics is 10 times the value of Africa’s cocoa exports.

    AfDB’s Agriculture and Agro-Industry Director, Chiji Ojukwu,  said: “The large potential and opportunities offered by the cocoa sector have not been fully exploited by producing countries, nor have they taken advantage of existing technological progress and innovations in the way other commodities have.”

    Cocoa is still produced by impoverished smallholder farmers, and most cocoa producing countries continue to export cocoa beans as raw materials, without adding value.

    Within the global value chain, most of the money is made after the beans have reached the North. At the same time many cocoa farmers and workers in the South have to get by on less than $1.25 a day, below the threshold of absolute poverty.

    “Cocoa growers today receive about six per cent of the price that consumers in rich countries pay for chocolate.

    In the 1980s their share is almost three times as great: 16 per cent.

    “As a result, the African cocoa sector faces considerable challenges that need to be addressed in order to sustain or even increase its contribution to the economies of producing countries,” the statement said.

    AfDB’s Vice-President in charge of Agriculture, Water, Human Development, Governance and Natural Resources, Aly Abou-Sabaa,  said: “A transformation agenda is required, where cocoa farmers would embrace a business approach and where activities to add value to the raw material would thrive, and generate growth, employment and additional revenues for cocoa stakeholders on the African continent.”

    There is a huge potential to increase value addition in Africa, which would be a source of economic diversification, job creation, tax revenues and, indirectly, improvement of farmers’ incomes. New cocoa and chocolate products made available to African consumers would also lead to increased consumption in the continent, which represents only four per cent of global consumption.

    AfDB and ICCO agreed to seek ways to strengthen their cooperation in a series of domains, such as value addition and promotion of cocoa and chocolate consumption in Africa, access to credit, market access and commodity exchanges, adoption of profitable cocoa farming models and thriving cooperatives, logistics and transportation.

  • Towards cultivation of export quality cocoa

    Towards cultivation of export quality cocoa

    Farmers and exporters are learning to cultivate safe and high-quality cocoa that meets international standards through a project coordinated by Farmers Development Union (FADU) and some partners, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    Evangelist Samson Makinde is a cocoa farmer in  Osun State. He owns a farm within the Ojere farm settlement. Over the past years, he has tried to do many things to improve his annual income from cocoa without results.

    Makinde was introduced to ‘Kokodola’ project. Kokodola is a Yoruba word which means ‘cocoa brings wealth.’ It started in 2012. It is a public-private partnership between Ferrero, Petra Foods Limited, Continaf , IDH, Oxfam Novib, and Farmers’ Development Union (FADU) in Nigeria. This opened the way for him to improve his cocoa business which he operates alongside rural missions.

    He is well-established locally and is fast becoming a household name. Before he did not have the technical knowledge to produce certified cocoa. Today, the programme is training him and a group of farmers in the state, through their cooperatives, to grow and harvest cocoa in the proper way.

    International organisations  have assisted the nation’s cocoa farmers to increase production to 500,000 tonnes per annum. They  have  encouraged  farmers to key into certification schemes to improve the country’s foreign exchange forex earnings by capitalising on her reputation as one of the producers of fine, or flavoured cocoa.

    The organisations include United States-based Hershey Company, German International Co-operation (GIZ), IDH (The Sustainable Trade Initiative) Oxfam Novib, Continaf, Ferrero, Petra Foods Limited and Farmers’ Development Union (FADU).

    Producers of certified cocoa receive the best prices. Through the project, aimed at improving safety and quality of cocoa, funded by GIZ, IDH and others, farmers received instruction from master trainers and extension officers on growing cocoa that meets international requirements. They visited other farms that have been certified for standards for the certification of cocoa cultivation – to learn good agricultural practices, such as the minimal use of pesticides and fungicides.

    Certification covers food safety and traceability; environment; workers’ health, safety and welfare; animal welfare; and integrated crop management, integrated pest control, quality management systems and hazard analysis, and critical control points.

    According to FADU Programme Coordinator, Victor Olowe, the certification helps farmers to ensure quality at a holistic level, in terms of taking  better care of farm workers  and  the produce, apart from the confidence it gives to foreign buyers.

    He said farmers were trained on a variety of things, including  use of fertiliser, chemicals, hygiene, health or safety, and how to bring a quality produce acceptable for export to the marketplace.

    He explained  that   farmers and  extension officers participating in  the project learn best practices in cultivation and post-harvest care to understand market requirements.

    Since FADU represents farmers including those in the cocoa sector, Olowe said the training has helped to see the quality of cocoa raised to a certain standard and quantity.

    Also the use of certain pesticides, weedicides and fungicides has been controlled.

    Phytosanitary methods is also part of the training which helps farmers to improve their quality standards.

    Through the project, he said FADU has been able to strengthen collaboration involving farmers, processors, exporters, government officials and buyers, adding that stakeholders value the need to partner and act together to address safety and quality-related issues for the benefit of all.

  • Cocoa exporters demand return of boom era

    Federal Government has been urged to bring back the era, when Nigeria was a top player in terms of quality and quantity in the global Cocoa production.

    The Cocoa Exporters Association of Nigeria(CEAN), which made the call, also recalled that in the 1960s and 1970s, the country banked on the commodity as the largest foreign revenue earner and one of the leading cocoa producers, but today, Nigeria is seventh in world ranking.

    The  association’s Secretary-General, Kayode Babade, who spoke  in Akure, the Ondo State capital, noted that Nigeria had all it takes to take over the leadership in cocoa production in the world if farmers and exporters were adequately encouraged by the government.

    He, however, praised President Muhammadu Buhari and Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh for inaugurating the Cocoa Re-launch Commitee aimed at diversifying the economy to an agric-based.This development, he observed, would boost the vision to make Nigeria the world’s largest cocoa producer.

    According to him, ”CEAN had in the past contributed immensely to the growth and expansion of cocoa in the country by providing loans and herbicides to farmers to enable them increase production.

    “With this federal government initiative, we are equally ready to further partner the farmers to ensure that the federal government vision on increased cocoa production comes to reality very soon.’’

    CEAN President, Pius Ayodele also urged the committee to alive to their duties, stressing that as major stakeholders in the cocoa value chain, they were looking forward to the cocoa re-launch campaign in Ondo in March.

  • Olam supports 10,000 cocoa farmers

    Olam Nigeria, one of the world’s largest buyer of agro commodities, has  trained 10,000  farmers  and  supported them with  seedlings to replace the current aging trees.

    Vice President & Head Corporate and Government Relations, Olam Nigeria, Ade Adefeko, explained that I0,000 farmers  were trained in good agricultural practices (GAP) across 200 cocoa growing communities in three states,while 185, 399 cocoa seedlings were distributed.

    He said his organisation’s  assistance is aimed at removing difficulties in cocoa planting. As part of  Olam Livelihood Charter (OLC) to invest in the rural communities of emerging countries across the world, he said, 10 borehole projects were provided last year to supply clean drinking water to rural communities previously relying on streams.

    On rice, he said, his organisation has created direct linkages between it and the farming community from seeding till purchase of paddy at collection centres, adding that the rice was bought at a competitive price from the farmers.

    Last year, he said 4077 farmers were mobilised during the wet season in Nasarawa State alone.

    On cashew, Adefeko said 5000 farmers received GAP training while it partnered Techno serve to trained 5000 farmers.

    To boost sesame production,  he said seeds were distributed to  10000 farmers, while 1800 sesame farmers participated  in GAP training. The farmers, he added,  benefitted from credit facilities for inputs such as fertilisers, sickles and sieves.

    He said his organisation  is  providing  high quality seeds (675 Hectares) to small holding rice farmers to discourage the use of grains as seeds year after year, which lead to yield and quality depression over successive generations.