The Nation Newspaper

Tag: COCOA

  • Cocoa production to rise

    Nigeria’s cocoa mid-crop is taking longer to complete and boosting prospects for production from the world’s fourth-largest grower of the beans.

    The smaller of two annual harvests is still progressing with few signs of damage from disease or bad weather, said Wale Owofemi of Olatunde International Ltd., a cocoa buying company based in Akure. The mid-crop usually ends in June with the larger main crop starting in October.

    Nigeria’s production for 2013-14 will grow to 300,000 metric tons from 295,000 tons a year earlier, according to the Cocoa Association of Nigeria, which groups farmers, traders and processors.

    Cocoa exports in May jumped 38 percent to 4,461 tons from the previous month as favorable weather bolstered crop performance, according to the Federal Produce Inspective Service. The mid-crop will climb to 66,000 tons from 35,000 tons, the Akure-based Cocoa Development Intiative, a non-government organisation that provides advice to farmers.

    Rain is forecast for this month in cocoa growing areas in Nigeria followed by less moisture and sun next month that will benefit drying beans, Andrew Oniarah of the Meteorological Office in Lagos said in a phone interview.

    Ivory Coast is the biggest cocoa grower, followed by Ghana and Indonesia, according to the London-based International Cocoa Organisation.

  • Oxfam condemns child labour on cocoa farms

    Oxfam condemns child labour on cocoa farms

    Oxfam  has  reiterated  its  commitment  to  seeing  more  certified farmers in Nigeria  earn higher yields and revenue from their cocoa crops,  stressing it will not encourage use of child labour on the farms.

    Addressing children at an event organised under  the  Kokodola project  in collaboration  with Osun State in  Oshogbo, its  Programme Officer, Women Empowerment, Mainstreaming and Networking Cocoa Project,  Mr John Ajipo, said  the organisation was   charged with dealing with social issues, including child labour and promotion of gender justice.

    According to him, most of the industry’s effort was focused on child labour, following an International Cocoa Initiative and an industry group to respond to the challenge.

    Oxfam, he  explained,  was committed to ensuring that child labour is reduced and the rights of children protected across cocoa plantations.

    To this end, he maintained that there was sustained awareness  campaign for the prevention and elimination of child labour adding that the organisation uses the Children’s Day to raise awareness on the issue with the state government.

    According to him, the   cocoa sector is of great importance for rural livelihoods and provides employment for many households, stressing that the organisation does not support  employing children on cocoa plantation.

    He said the sector has been criticised for using children on the farms globally.

    Consequently, most of the industry’s effort was focused on child labour.

    He said Oxfam was determined  to foster a durable relationship with farmers by supporting programmes to help them to manage their resources sustainably.

    Oxfam’s mission, he maintained, is to work with individuals and organisations  to create a just world without poverty.

    The organisation works   with other members of the Kokodola project consortium to implement the Sustainable Cocoa projects in Osun and Ondo states. The goal of the project is to create a growing sustainable and efficient value chain of farmers for certified cocoa production, thereby improving social, economic and environmental conditions of the cocoa farmers across the two states.

    The Programme Coordinator, Farmers Development Union (FADU), Mr. Bayo Olaniyan, highlighted the danger of child labour.

    He  said the organisation is working as hard as possible to playan even more proactive role towards the elimination of the worst formsof child labour.

  • Cocoa Foundation to train 70,000 farmers

    Cocoa Foundation to train 70,000 farmers

    World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture to train 70, 000 cocoa farmers and 100 groups in 10 cocoa producing states. The states are Ondo, Cross River, Osun, Ekiti, Edo, Ogun, Abia, Oyo, Kogi and Akwa-Ibom. Socodevi Nigeria, a Canadian non-governmental organisation (NGO), is managing the programme for WCF.

    The Country Representative for WCF, Mr. Neil Abang, said the programme is geared towards increasing cocoa production from 450 kilogramme (kg) per hectare to about 800 kg per hectare. Addressing a train-the trainers farmers business school workshop in Akure, Ondo State, Abang said the training had become necessary because many farmers have limited access to information and education on improved farming techniques that could enhance their yield.

    Abang said for the nation to achieve its goal of food sufficiency, farmers must have access to quality inputs such as sowing seeds, herbicides and pesticides, or to critical information such as accurate weather forecasts that could help them improve the quality of their crops. Such inefficiencies, he said, increase transaction costs and slash potential profits for farmers. He said the farmers business school (FBS) is a channel for the dissemination of management knowledge among farmers.

    The success of the programme in improving farmers’ income through increased yield and savings on production costs has stimulated an upsurge of demand for more programmes in other communities.

    On the workshop, he said trainers are drawn from Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) offices across the country and department of cooperatives of states involved in the programme. At the end, he said 100 cocoa farmers’ groups would be banded into viable cooperatives, linking them with partners for sales of their products. This will lead to certifying the cooperatives.

    Cocoa farmers under this programme will be paid premium by chocolate firms of WCF. He said using the FBS model, 70, 000 cocoa farmers would be trained as entrepreneurs, thereby increasing their capacities to effectively manage their farms as businesses.

    The Ondo State Commissioner for Agriculture, Alhaji Lasisi Oluboyo, commended Socodevi Nigeria for introducing the business school, adding that the initiative will help promote agricultural growth.

  • Empowering cocoa farmers to reduce poverty, boost food security

    Empowering cocoa farmers to reduce poverty, boost food security

    Despite doing about 66 per cent of cocoa work, women earn only 10 per cent of its income. They are also financially excluded and discriminated against when they apply for loans, leaving them poor. The Farmers Development Union (FADU) plans to come to their aid. Daniel Essiet reports.

    Many small-scale farmers and their families depend on cocoa for a living. One of them is Mrs Martha Ade (not real name). Because cocoa grows well in her area, it is the main cash crop for some farmers. In the past, income from cocoa has helped them to feed and meet their basic needs. But not so now.

    Mrs Ade earns little income because of poor quality of the produce and limited access to markets. Most times, the price they received from their cocoa is low. Those who work like contract farmers accept low pay because of the low prices offered by middlemen who visit their farms.

    Most women farmers were cheated on the weight of their product, and the price they received for it is too low to meet their needs. Other women found that they could no longer make a living from cocoa.

    Some of the farm plots are small with ageing trees that are becoming less productive. As farmers, they did not meet certain necessary requirements, such as owning assets. This lack of knowledge and understanding is further compounded by gender discrimination limiting women’s options.

    There are many families, whose situations are terrible and need change. How to resolve this has drawn the attention of the Farmers Development Union (FADU), a leading farmers’ cooperative in Ibadan. In response, the group organised a stakeholders’ workshop. It was aimed at bringing about improvement in women, particularly the poorest. It also focused on mainstreaming gender justice, improving cocoa quality, promoting the national and local markets and diversify livelihoods to reduce over supply and vulnerability.

    Addressing a gender sensitive cocoa workshop in Ibadan, the Programme Coordinator of FADU, Mr Victor Olowe said women do much of the work in the industry, but earn small income. They experience higher financial exclusion and are discriminated against when they apply for loans.

    Since they cannot access the capital to invest, they are trapped in a cycle of poverty and subsistence living.

    As a result of this appalling condition coupled with the economic situation in the country, Olowe said many local women, who engaged in farming, live in abject poverty and remain vulnerable.

    He also said without land rights, women, as cocoa farmers are vulnerable, unable to take responsibility for their well-being and that of their children.

    Such rights and opportunities, he noted, empower women, enhancing their status and food long-term security.

    He explained that crop’s production is, particularly, good for women farmers. That is, if they have the same access to input, such as credit and fertilisers.

    He added that small cocoa farmers, especially women, have poor bargaining power. They typically sell at low price to the market.

    To this end, he said a lot of small farmers need to be connected to better markets to boost their productivity.

    What FADU has done is to band them in groups, so the farmers can sell their produce in bulk, connect to better markets and realise more of the crop’s value.

    The groups offer a forum to improve farming skills through training and demonstration plots. And the members of business groups are better to access critical input and services, such as seeds, fertilisers, irrigation systems and credit.

    Another method the organisation is using to highlight the plight of women is through the Gender Action Learning System (GALS). The GALS approach represents a creative approach reaching marginalised voices in the supply chain: poor men, and especially, women. It is useful not only to non-governmental organisation ( NGOs) or development agencies, but for social auditors.

    The Programme Officer, Women’s Empowerment Mainstreaming and Networking (WEMAN), Oxfam, John Ajigo, said cocoa production involves many households, adding that it is crucial not only to incomes of rural households, but also the national economy. As in many value chains, women are important as producers and small traders. But they face a vicious cycle of gender discrimination and gender based constraints, which limit their ability to contribute to the industry, or to benefit from it.

    He said his organisation used GALS with many women and men producers and other stakeholders to sensitise them on the need to get more women into cocoa work.

    Getting this through, give women and men in communities the drive to push gender justice.

    The Project Manger, FADU-Continaf Kokodola Project, Mrs Mopelola Fabunmi, said the gender action learning programme emphasises strengthening the role of women in the cocoa value chain industries and improving food security in households.

    A participatory methodology, she explained that GALS through pictures, canvasses the inclusion of the marginalised ones in the value chain and discussion of sensitive topics such as gender equality. Ultimately, she said the visual method of drawing contributes rich data through enhanced participation,which can feed into enhanced sustainability programmes.

    Through the programme, she said women learned new ideas and skill, experience and activities to increase food production for consumption and income.

    Mrs Mopelola said her project has trained 1,600 farmers in Oyo and Osun states.

    She said the project is helping the farmers to access new markets, by working also with Continaf International, Dutch cocoa trading firm, ASN Bank, the Sustainable Trade Initiative, and the cocoa producers, Delfi and Ferrero.

    But a major challenge is to increase the number of women cocoa farmers participating in the programme, about 20 per cent.

    Controller, Programmes, FADU, Mr Bayo Olaniyan said his organisation found women smallholder farmers make a large contribution to the production of commodity cashcrops on their farms, but derive a disproportionately low direct financial benefit from their work.

    He said empowering women farmers is crucial to poverty reduction, food security, and economic stability and growth.

  • Cote d’Ivoire to consolidate gains in cocoa

    Cote d’Ivoire to consolidate gains in cocoa

    Cote d’Ivoire will continue to consolidate its gains in the cocoa industry as the world’s number one producer.

    Madam Massandje Toure-Litse, Chief Executive Officer of the Regulation, Stabilization and Development Board of the Coffee and Cocoa sector (Le Conseil duCafé-Cacao) said the objective was to develop a sustainable coffee and cocoa economy through the re-organisation of the production and improvement of the productivity.

    She said Le Conseil du Café-Cacao was to promote good governance and transparency in resource management and setting up of a strong inter-professional body built on reliable producer organization.

    Madam Toure-Litse was speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Abidjan by courtesy of the Ghana Export Promotion Authority on the sideline of the ongoing international forum for Investments in Côte d’Ivoire 2014.

    She said her outfit continued to secure producer’s income by ensuring that a minimum guaranteed price as well as the setting up of conditions for raising indoor and outdoor consumptions.

    She said the country was working to improve the living and working conditions of coffee and cocoa producers, adding that, government was providing such farming communities with solar generated electricity, schools, health centres and other social amenities.

    Madam Toure-Litse said the programme aimed at increasing producers’ and their communities’ income through the improvement of coffee and cocoa productivity and quality.

    She said public-private-partnership in the coffee and cocoa sector was designed to set up a permanent joint consultation and dialogue between the actors involved in the value chain of the coffee and cocoa sector.

    She said her organization met regularly with its Ghanaian counterpart, Cocoa Board to share ideas for mutual benefits.

     

    SOURCE: ghanabusinessnews.com

     

  • CRIN to partner cocoa producing states

    COCOA Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN) Ibadan, Oyo State capital would soon initiate a programme to boost the economy of the country through massive cocoa production for export.

    This would be achieved through the partnership between the institute and the 26 cocoa producing states in the federation.

    The Chairman, Board of Governing of CRIN, Chief Francis A Fadahunsi disclosed this to journalist after his inspection and assessment of situation in the institute.

    Fadahunsi stressed that partisan politics has nothing to do with economy, as the South West Governors are all involved in the Federal Government transformation agenda on agriculture.

    He went on that:”Look, there is no politics in economy. If we want to grow, we must leave partisan politics elsewhere. All the 26 Governors in the Cocoa producing states would contribute fund for the transformation of agriculture programmes.

    “If we can partnership with them to get about 2000 hectares of land in each state, you can see what it would generate. A tonnage of cocoa today is about $2,860 which is more than oil. This will definitely boost our economy”

  • Cocoa, cashew farmers decry multiple taxation

    Multiple taxes and levies by state and local governments are taking a toll on cashew and cocoa farmers, making it difficult for them to meet the cost of farm inputs.

    Stakeholders have appealed to the government to overhaul the tax system to enable farmers to overcome the challenges of climate change, spiralling input prices and the cost of energy.

    Rising from a meeting in Lagos to review the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan they urged him to ignore calls to ban cocoa beans export.

    At the meeting, were the National President, Cocoa Association of Nigeria (CAN), Sayina Riman and his counterpart in National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN) , Mr. Tola Faseru, Cocoa Exporters Nigeria Group, Chief Olu Ogini and National Publicity Secretary of NCAN, Mr. Sotonye Anga, among others.

    They demanded that the suspension of Negotiable Duty Credit Certificate (NDCC) by the Customs be lifted and multiple taxes and levies by state and local governments be abolished.

    They urged government at all levels to promote local consumption and utilisation of cocoa and cashew products, create an enabling environment for value addition and partner with CAN and NCAN in stimulating growth across the value chain.

    “We agree with the policy of the Federal Government towards stimulating growth in the sector by the involvement of true stakeholders.The policy should be consistent and structured and government should acknowledge the huge investments and contributions to the economy by all stakeholders in the value chain which directly benefit over five million families.

    “Government should support the data collation of tree crop farmers given its peculiarities and the need for proper planning.

    “The government should collaborate with the associations in enforcing ground rules within the trade structure and should ensure that Export Expansion Grant (EEG) policy is sustained,” the group said in a communiqué.

  • FG seeks increased cocoa production

    FG seeks increased cocoa production

    THE Federal Government will soon install state-of-the-art machines and equipment at its laboratory Produce Inspection Service to carry out residual analysis on cocoa products designated for export in all warehouses and seaports across the nation. It also directed governors of cocoa- producing states to set up State Cocoa Development Committees saddled with the responsibility of increasing production and ensuring high quality of cocoa.The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, stated these at a farmers’ sensitisation workshop on mitigation of harmful effects of pesticide residues in Cocoa in Akure, capital of Ondo State, at the weekend. He said these efforts would enable Nigeria’s cocoa comply with the prescribed international regulations on pesticide residues.

    He added that government would collaborate with National Project Steering Committee of the SPS Cocoa Africa Project in the training of Laboratory Personnel that would be capable of conducting pesticide residue analysis of cocoa and other food products.

    Aganga, who was represented by Mr. Napoleon Abalaka, noted that the overuse of pesticides on cocoa by majority of farmers had led to rejection of the product in the international market.

    He said: “As a major producer of cocoa, our primary goal is to secure a sustainable market for our cocoa and cocoa products and we cannot achieve this if we ignore the growing international concern for food safety and the treats of pesticides and contaminants to human health.”

    Aganga assured that his ministry will collaborate with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to monitor pesticides and other agro-chemicals smuggled across borders.

    The President, Cocoa Association of Nigeria (CAN), Mr. Sayina Riman, noted people all over the world have health concerns over the foods they consume.

    “The world has come with the minimum standard within the section of what they will allow for Cocoa and this is called Minimum Residues Limit (MRL),” he stated.

     

  • Cocoa Mall targets made-in-Nigeria goods

    The Cocoa Mall in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, will boost the sale of made-in-Nigeria goods, its management has said.

    The 3,600-square metre mall, with about 14,000sqm lettable space, will open for business in October.

    The mall will parade Shoprite, Pep, Medplus, Ruff ‘n’ Tumble, Mr. Price, Cash N ACarry, Bussen, Healthplus and a cinema as tenants.

    Its promoter and developer, Chief Tokunbo Omisore, said: “Cocoa Mall is of international standard in terms of structure and pricing. It is the first in Oyo State.

    “Pricing, not just of space acquisition, but also of goods and services rendered by occupants, will be affordable. Though the mall is a huge investment, we have set a reasonable time for returns on investment.

    “The mall is 80 per cent allotted and paid for by prospective shop operators of repute in the growing retail industry. Our tenants are multinationals and local businesses, which are set to project made-in-Nigeria goods.

    “The mall will create employment and bring back the good memories of the days of Kingsway Stores, Leventis and UTC.”

     

  • ‘Bad policy killed cocoa industry’

    ‘Bad policy killed cocoa industry’

    Dr. Victor Iyama chairman, Board of trustees, Cocoa Association of Nigeria and President, Federation of Agricultural Commodity Association of Nigeria, is very passionate about cocoa business. In this interview with Bukola Afolabi he speaks on the problems and prospects of the cocoa industry

    Before the oil boom, can you tell us how many metric tonnes of cocoa Nigeria grew compared to what we are growing now?

    Before the oil boom, actually, we were growing up to 400 or 410, 000 tonnes but as that time, the consumption level was not as high as this all over the world and even at that time, we were number two. As at that time too, Ghana was producing less, Ghana was producing about 300 and something tonnes; Cote d’ivoire was producing about 400 and something tonnes. They were only a little bit higher. Today, Cote d’ivoire is on 1.5, 1.6 million tonnes, Ghana is on about I million, 1.1 million tonnes, we are going to 300,000 tonnes. But, I will tell you why it was like that. You know when cocoa board was introduced; the board was making all the money while the farmers were suffering.

    They were dictating prices, cheating the farmers, so it got to a stage where the farmers said what the heck, if I have to waste all my time like this and I get this peanut, why don’t I cut off this tree and leave it and grow maize, yam, cassava, crops that will be useful to me because of course, cocoa is not beans, it is not rice, you can only export it so the man concentrated growing arable crops that people will eat and that was what happened to cocoa. So, when they scrapped the cocoa board, infact, cocoa in Nigeria then to a level of about 81,000 tonnes per annum. So, when they scrapped the cocoa board and cocoa association came online, it was free enterprise, free entry, you can do your cocoa, quote your price, follow the world price, quote whatever you wanted to quote, sell your cocoa the way you want it and we were overseeing it, the farmers started getting back.

    So how much did we generate from cocoa?

    It is not too much of a difficult question to answer but I can tell you that in Nigeria today, we generate about $900million. You know that cocoa price fluctuates. Cocoa price is determined by what they call the London terminal market and the New York terminal market. So, it goes up and down. But presently, we are generating between, $900million. At times, it could be $800million because out of non-oil export in this country today, cocoa bean is still the second largest earner of the foreign exchange. Even the way we are even talking that cocoa has gone down, it is still the second largest foreign earner of the country today, it is only second to oil, even as we speak. So, you can now imagine if we concentrate our efforts in developing it further, cocoa can easily compete with oil.

    What do you think is the problem of the cocoa production in Nigeria?

    Naturally, if you talk of farming, cocoa has its own peculiar problem. I will show you some pictures of some farms that were devastated by natural attacks. At first, we thought it was normal caterpillar, within one month, they have cleared the farm, I will show you some pictures. Cocoa has its own natural disease and natural hazards that come from time to time. But many of the challenges stem from lack of funds to invest in farming. To invest in farming, for example, is a difficult thing. Some people who are clamouring for processing, I told them it is because it is easier to go and borrow money, to put it in buying machine, you know fully well that put off the machines and buy cocoa beans and put it through the machines, it is easy but you go and farm. Ideally, I have so much countries where there is cocoa, I visited Epadom, Victoria company; it is a company which I am looking towards too. From their farms, they have established large farms. From their farms, they take it to their factory, they process it to chocolate and sell but here, people will go and borrow huge money, a factory that is not supposed to cost more than $1.9 billion. Something, he will go borrow like 2.5 billion naira for a factory that will not be more than 1 billion or 1.2 billion, you have already created trouble for yourself and then you will start lying to government that it is because you are not getting cocoa to buy that is why your factory is not making money. Do you know what government has done, I must be sincere, I am not part of the people who just blame government, in cocoa in export, and government has tried a lot. Do you know that if you are an exporter in this country, especially if you processed or manufactured goods, do you know that government gives you 30%, 25% of your turnover as grant, which government does that. The only government which does something similar is the Chinese government, 30% and tell me all of us went to school. If you are getting 30% as turnover and you are not making money, won’t you close that thing? Do we continue to use our money to help foreign countries, 30%, 25% of your turnover, government gives you as grant as long as you can prove that you have shipped and CBN can confirm that the money came in, what else you want this government to do in terms of that

    What is your relationship with government agencies, especially NEXIM which is the saddled with the responsibility providing capital for export trade?

    Well, NEXIM is a bank like every other bank. The relationship is always cordial. If you want to take money from NEXIM, you go to NEXIM, their interest rate they claim is about 14%, but by the time, you take it through banks, it is more than that.

    I have not finished with this farming issue. You see, funding of farming, you cannot continue to say farmers should bring collateral, the collateral should be the farms that is what is been done in the develop countries, you will involve the insurance company to insure it and you give them money against that. At the very worse, you involve the association to guarantee their members, you cannot tell a farmer to go and bring a house at Victoria Island or Ikoyi to come and take money, it is not done, if we really want to grow that is the way to go

    You’re saying that government is planning to…

    (Cuts in) It is not that government is planning, some people that called themselves (COPAN) Cocoa Processors Association of Nigeria, and we’ve been at logger heads with them. I use to process and use to take tones of cocoa to the factory since I have a buyer. I wanted to set up my own processing but when I realised that it is a drainpipe that is why I put it on hold for now. I have gone for so many training, from processing to chocolate manufacturing in Malaysia. So many people in our association went for training for grafty because those cocoa farms that have been abandoned, we want to resuscitate it through grafty and distribute to the youths.

    What we are saying here is that these are the people going behind and they just want to cause unnecessary problem in the cocoa economy of this country because if we say like Babaginda did though he quickly rescind his decision because then too he was deceived to believe that it is processing and it wasn’t. You process something and you can’t sell it you will be begging somebody to come and buy it and he will tell you it has the stanzas, he will be giving you almost half the price. Many people who set up factory because of 30%, they have forgotten that for you to get 30%. You will have to process that thing and you would have brought in the money before you can get 30%. They also give to people who seek other commodities; even cocoa beans should get up to 5 to 10%. The cocoa processors now are even trying to tell them that they shouldn’t even give cocoa beans anything, whereas who does the work, is it the person processing cocoa or the person producing the cocoa beans?

    But this people, are they an association, are they part of you to form their own association?

    No, from day one, what my elders handed over to me, we have a new president right from time. You know I’m the chairman of board of trustees but I’m the president of the Federation of Agricultural Commodity Association of Nigeria. So I’m overseeing about 42 different commodity associations.