For most cocoa farmers within the major cocoa belt across the country, there is little or no motivation to grow cocoa pods as the expected socio-economic gains are not at all commensurate with the timeless efforts and labour involved. In this report, Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf (Lagos) Damisi Ojo (Akure) Ernest Nwokolo (Abeokuta) Adesoji Adeniyi (Osogbo) examine the issues
AT the best of times in this country, cocoa, otherwise known as theobroma cacao, which translated in Greek means “food of the gods,” was one of the major cash-crops relied upon as a foreign exchange earner ever before crude oil was discovered in commercial quantity in Oloibiri, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
But the criminal neglect of the agricultural sub-sector with its immense potential exemplified by the groundnut pyramids in the north, oil palm trees, rubber plantations in the Midwest, to mention just a few, whether as a result of policy ineffectiveness, errors of commission and commission, analysts have argued, is responsible in part for the parlous state of the once booming cocoa industry.
Good old days
While the boom lasted, the people of the Southwest Nigeria, reputed for cocoa farming, enjoyed all the benefits that came with it from the 50’s and perhaps up to the late 90’s.
Interestingly, cocoa came to be one of the symbols of commerce and industry and a stamp of legacy and honour bequeathed to the Southwest Nigeria by the pantheon of Yoruba politics, late Chief Obafemi Awolowo.
As the Premier of the Old Western Region, revenues from cocoa formed parts of the funds deployed for the many landmark projects – infrastructural developments and funding of free education, among other many regional investments executed in the region by Awo.
One of the famous relics is the Cocoa House in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. The edifice, attests not only to the region’s strong ties with cocoa farming but also represents one of the efficient avenues proceeds from the produce was well utilised and managed.
And Ogun State due to its strategic location, vast arable land and the salubrious weather condition it enjoys annually, played a pivotal role by contributing significantly to the cocoa beans production pool of the region during the Awolowo’s era.
The Nigerian cocoa story is a very riveting story indeed. Regrettably, the overreliance on oil has inadvertently led to the dwindling fortunes of most Nigerian cocoa farmers, who have had to relinquish their position as Africa’s leaders in the production of the cash-crop to Côte d’Ivoire position.
Profile of cocoa-producing countries
In order of annual production size, the eight largest cocoa-producing countries at present are Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Indonesia, Nigeria, Cameroon, Brazil, Ecuador and Malaysia. These countries represent 90% of world production.
Cote D’Ivoire is the leading cocoa producing nation with 1.3 million tonnes annually, while Ghana is rated second with about 900,000 tonnes. Nigeria produces only about 250,000 tonnes annually. While the number of people who depend on cocoa worldwide for livelihood is estimated at 40-50 million, annual cocoa production is put at 3 million tonnes.
The total number of cocoa farmers worldwide is calculated at over 6 million, comprising mostly Africans, Asians, Central Americans and South Americans. Africa is believed to have the greatest number of cocoa farmers but despite this plus, majority of its regular cocoa farmers still wallow in poverty due to poor standard of living, and various economic and environmental problems.
Tales of woes
In the view of many stakeholders, cocoa farmers, especially the ones in the rural areas have been seriously marginalised and neglected. While the production can be said to be witnessing relative increase over the years, that cannot apply to the quality of cocoa beans from the farmers’ harvest annually as was the case in the past when all cocoa produce passed through the Commodity Board for testing, grading and standardisation.
With the abolition of Commodity Board decades back, a regime of free trade in the produce crept in and almost anybody could take the commodity outside the state for sale without certification and grading. The implication is the quality of the produce began to take a downward trend and so is the farmers’ income.
Besides, cocoa farmers are crying over fluctuation in the prices of cocoa. They are calling on the government at all levels to intervene and save them from avoidable losses. Some of the cocoa farmers, who bore their minds on the challenges they face, are clamouring for return of price control board to regulate the buying and selling mechanism of the products.
One of such is the fluctuating price of cocoa locally which is forcing many cocoa merchants to quit the business due to what they described as government insensitivity to their plights.
John Ajeromi, a cocoa merchant in Idanre Local Government Area, which is the largest cocoa producing area in the country, said government needs to provide soft loans for both cocoa farmers and traders.
Ajeromi said most of the cocoa traders who are still in the business are compelled by circumstances beyond their control to borrow money from the bank at outrageously high interest rate, thus making the venture unattractive to prospective borrowers.
His words, “As a cocoa trader, government is not helping us at all, most especially in the area of finance. We have no option than to source for loan from banks.
“Government is not equally helping cocoa farmers; most of them do not have money to expand their farms. Most of these farmers spend the money they have after harvesting; they are left with nothing to continue with the business.
‘’In the past, there used to be Cocoa Development Unit[CDU] in the state department of the Ministry of Agriculture to raise young cocoa seedlings that would replace old cocoa trees on regular basis, but the department is now in extinction.
“So, the burden is always on cocoa merchants to finance these farmers to ensure that they remain in the business which is highly discouraging.
“We have been appealing to government but they have refused to come to our aid because we need government to assist the farmers and the merchants through soft loans with low interest rates.
“Government is realising a huge amount on cocoa annually, most especially at the state level, we are paying N3, 000 per ton on every graded cocoa to the government and we are not assisted in any form.
“We buy the chemicals ourselves; we borrow money to finance ourselves and the farmers. There is no single assistance from the federal and the state governments.”
Ajeromi noted that many youths are not venturing into the business again because you have to plan properly.
According to him, many people are quitting the business because it is frustrating. Even, so many youth find it extremely difficult to venture into the business.
The complaints of cocoa farmers are not too different from that of the traders. Apart from not being well funded, they also lament poor state of roads through which they transport dry cocoa beans from farm to the town.
An Indian, Anil Gopwani, used to export cocoa to Europe from Ondo State but like some others, he has given up the business. Although he started exporting cocoa in 2002, he seems not happy with how the business is being run.
According to him, cocoa business is no more dependable. It has no clear cut policy from government. Gopwani said the burden of over pricing of cocoa at the local level which is currently being sold at N310, 000 per ton also forced him out of the business in 2011.
He said, “I started cocoa business in 2006 but quit the business two years ago. The market is not encouraging at all. The system of buying cocoa in Nigeria is not favourable at all. Even the price at international market keeps dropping every day.
“I don’t want to remain in a business I will be running at a loss. Because of this I have to quit cocoa business. Imagine a situation where you buy cocoa at N310,000 per ton and by the time you take it to Lagos you sell it below the price.
“Though many are still in the trade, but they are facing different challenges before moving cocoa to the international market.”
Shedding more light on the issue of unwholesome levies, the National President of Cocoa Association of Nigeria, Mr. Sayina Riman, in a statement issued in Akure last Monday, had lamented the proposed plan by the state government to increase the tax on cocoa farmers.
Riman spoke in time against the hike in the registration fee being paid by the Licensed Buying Agents, which was increased from N15,000 to N60,000, while another was raised from N80,000 to N250,000.
Riman advised the government not to apply the same system that was used to increase fees in other sectors to agriculture, saying the sector was the highest employer of labour in the state.
The CAN president said such an indiscriminate increase was “inhuman, insensitive and does not take the farmers into consideration,” adding that the government should return to status quo ante.
Muikala Adekunle, a cocoa farmer, lamented that high prices chemicals they use for maintaining their cocoa plantation and which in return will give them a bumper harvest.
He said lack of marketing board has created an avenue for the exporters and importers, mainly whites to cheat them.
Like Adekunle, Nurudeen Alowonle, another farmer, who resides at Isale-Osun farm settlement, said keeping a cocoa farm required a substantial funding, which many farmers do not have. He, therefore, appealed to the government to assist through various loan programmes to aid their farming.
According to Abdulateef Agbelekale, owner of Omooke Cocoa Store at Oke Bale, Osogbo, the sales of cocoa are not encouraging, saying the hard times facing the dealers of the products have made it unattractive for prospective farmers.
Another cocoa merchant, Prince Adeolu Olayemi, said one of their greatest problems is the role the Cocoa examiners, which in local parlance are called Asasan.
He lamented that the officers appointed to grade the products and collect taxes on them on behalf of the government over tax. He said when they over tax them they pass down the ‘burden’ to final buyers in form of a high price.
Owner of Hasgat Cocoa Store, Kazeem Moshood, said the seasonal nature of cocoa planting and harvesting has made cocoa very less lucrative these days.
According to him, the effects of the poor rural feeder roads linking the urban towns before onward transportation of the products outside the shores of the country is yet another challenge many of the farmers are grappling with.
Another cocoa farmer in Atosin Village said they always faced difficult challenges on the road before bringing cocoa to the town.
“Our roads are in bad condition, most especially roads in the villages. The roads have been like that for years and both state and federal governments are not looking in that direction.
“In fact, most times we have to pay huge amount of money to the owners of big trucks to help us to move our cocoa from the villages to the town.”
An official of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture who spoke in confidence blamed the federal government for abandoning cocoa production and farmers in the field because of crude oil, which may soon dry off
He urged those in authority to reconsider this and encourage farmers to boost cocoa production in the country.
Investigation by The Nation revealed that most of the regular cocoa farmers are peasant farmers who delve into farming mainly to sustain their families. Majority of them are in their middle age – in their 40s and 50s. There is the fear that cocoa farming in the town may soon peter out as many of the young men engaged in it are increasingly taking to the commercial motorcycle venture or gunning for menial jobs in the cities.
Another constraint mentioned by a group of cocoa farmers is that they hardly benefit from the so-called government intervention funds/loans. They revealed that even some of the seeds, especially the high yielding ones, meant for farmers, courtesy of the government, are often hijacked by ghost farmers while genuine farmers are left out. Most of the farmers are also still applying old methods and tools due to illiteracy. While in countries like Ghana, most of the farmers are using high yielding and improved varieties, the old and regular seeds are in vogue among Nigerian farmers.
Farmers are also ruing high rainfall this year and have been counting their losses. Another setback identified by the farmers is land unavailability. Lands for cocoa cultivation are becoming limited due to urbanisation – the need to construct houses, infrastructure and other social and human amenities.
In all, the tales of cocoa farmers, from the farms at the grassroots to the stores in urbanised cities are unison. It is that of hardship and unpleasant. What the farmers need is urgent intervention of those in authorities with a strong political will.
Success stories
Notwithstanding the plethora of complaints by local farmers who are convinced that things have indeed fallen apart for the once bourgeoning sector, the government seems to have a different view.
Interestingly, the Minister of Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga, has said Nigeria realised about $900m from the export of cocoa and cocoa products in 2012.
He stated this during the national sensitisation workshop of the project on Sanitary Standards Capacity Building in Africa in Abuja.
In his address read by the Acting Permanent Secretary, Mr. Olakunle Sogboola, Aganga said cocoa is the second largest foreign exchange earner after crude oil, generating over two million jobs directly and indirectly along its value chain.
According to him, “The global market for cocoa is very huge, growing at an average of 3% per annum. Nigeria’s cocoa export has equally grown over the years by an average of 40% annually and a cumulative of 280% from $215m in 2006 to $822.8m from the export of cocoa and cocoa products last year.”
He added: “Nigeria is the world’s fourth largest producer and exporter of cocoa. Paradoxically, over 90% of the cocoa produced is exported. Our domestic consumption of this strategic commodity is barely 3%.”
