The Federal Government said on Thursday that a total of N122.89 billion was earned from exports of raw cocoa beans and other associated products in the first quarter of the year 2022.
Muhammed Abubakar, the minister of agriculture and rural development, stated this in Akure, the Ondo state capital at the 1st National Cocoa Festival, tagged “Stakeholders Collaboration To Make Nigeria Cocoa Industry Sustainable”,
Abubakar, who emphasised the Federal Government’s position in diversifying the nation’s economy towards Agriculture and Agribusiness, said, “it is now obvious that Nigeria cannot continue to rely on crude oil to develop economically, going by the instability of crude oil prices due to the Russian-Ukraine war”, adding that diversification is no longer a myth but a reality.
Represented by Omolara Abimbola-Oguntuyi, the Southwest Zonal Director, maintained that Agriculture holds the key to the collective survival as a people in terms of job creation, income generation, food, and nutritional security as well as foreign exchange earnings.
Speaking on the activities of Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria (CFAN) towards diversification of the nation’s economy, Adeola Adegoke, National President of CFAN, said the Association would soon commence the process of the enumeration and bio-data collection of all the cocoa farmers, adding that “this task will be done in collaboration with our cocoa value chain stakeholders across the cocoa producing states and our cocoa communities traditional leaders.”
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According to him, this would enable the investors, policy makers and other relevant stakeholders to know all the information they need about their cocoa beans, cocoa plantation environment, inputs/GAP, activities in the cocoa plantations.
Adegoke, also called on all the beneficiaries of their bank loan across the producing cocoa states to repay their loan fully without any further delay in order to sustain the financing and refinancing of the cocoa production sub-sector by the CBN and other financial partners.
He said this was the only way to guarantee the continuity of such programmes and to sustain the support to the cocoa industry.
“Beneficiaries must note that defaulters shall face prosecution by the Association in due course,” Adegoke said.
Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, who also spoke at the event, said the state government would continue to provide an enabling environment for businesses to strive in the state.
Akeredolu, who was represented by his Senior Special Assistant on Agric and Agribusiness, Akin Olotu, urged the stakeholders across the states to support the cocoa production in the country.
According to him, the Ondo State being the leading cocoa producer in Nigeria, is more committed to promoting its production and value addition in the state and
Nigeria as a whole.
“Stakeholders in the Nigeria cocoa value chain must be united to think outside the box, work for increased funding and speak with one voice to move our cocoa production forward,” Akeredolu said.
“It may interest you to note that Ondo State has moved ahead to foster collaboration amongst all stakeholders in the cocoa industry which is in line with the objective of this August gathering.”
The Ooni of Ife, Oba Eniitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, who was decorated as the Grand Patron of Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria, said in order to make Nigeria cocoa industry sustainable, all cocoa producing states in the country must contribute their quota to the development of cocoa production in the country.
