In the 1960s and 70s, cocoa, oil palm, and groundnut were Nigeria’s main drivers of economic growth and development.
But the discovery of crude oil at Oloibiri in present-day Bayelsa State, a few years to Nigeria’s independence, changed Nigeria’s cocoa and oil palm narratives, prompting the country to lag in the production of these commodities.
Long years of dis-investment and the inability of Africa’s most populous country to sustain and improve its production of cocoa and oil palm led to a sharp decline in productivity.
Ageing trees, lack of improved seedlings, and inadequate finance are other major reasons for Nigeria’s loss of ‘cocoa power’ and oil palm status in the global market.
In fact, Nigeria was unable to supply large quantity of cocoa to the world in 2015 despite the rise in the prices of ICE and Liffe cocoa beans.
However, succour may have come to Africa’s biggest economy as the Federal government is making efforts to tap into the value chain in the palm oil and cocoa industry – which can create millions of jobs and earn foreign exchange for the country.
The government is seeking to stimulate social-economic development through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) intervention programmes, Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN), and the Nigeria Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR).
The move by the government to refocus on cash crops and their value chains has received commendation from stakeholders.
The Cocoa farmers association says the government has released over N700millon through the apex bank Anchor Borrowers Scheme to 1,221 cocoa farmers in 10 producing states with each farmer getting N592,332 as inputs and in cash for maintaining about three hectares of existing cocoa plantations.
Adeola Adegoke, president of the Cocoa Farmers Association, says N197,444 is allocated per hectare, and three hectares are calculated for each farmer.
The loan which Adegoke says attracts a nine-percent interest rate payable within 18 months would increase beneficiaries’ productivity from about 350kg of cocoa beans per hectare to about 600kgs.
He believed that such interventions would help to restore Nigeria to the path of cocoa productivity.
However, Anna Muyiwa, a plant biotechnologist at the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN), said the country must start rehabilitating old cocoa plantations and develop more hybrid varieties to boost local production apart from supporting farmers with finance.
“We need to rehabilitate our old cocoa trees in all cocoa producing states. A completely rehabilitated cocoa plantation of proven clone will produce as much as 2.5 tons per hectare,” Muyiwa said, stressing the need to develop more hybrid varieties.
For oil palm, as of April 2020, the apex bank said it had disbursed a total of N34.3billion to major oil palm companies through its intervention programmes to support the industry with a plan to plant 100,000 hectares of palm oil trees by 2025, from 20,000 hectares in 2020.
However, experts call for support in the area of land clearing and the certification of seedlings from research institutes to ensure quality as well as free distribution of seedlings for farmers.
“Investment in oil palm requires huge finance. Funding is one of the major challenges we face in the industry,” said Henry Olatujoye, national president, National Palm Produce Association of Nigeria (NPPAN).
“The traditional processing has been very inefficient because of low technology, which has contributed to the shortage of palm oil for industries,” he said.
With a well-developed palm oil and cocoa industry, Nigeria can export the products and earn huge foreign exchange, thereby reducing the crude oil shocks on the economy, experts say.
