Nigeria’s cocoa production has dropped from 248,000 metric tonnes (MT) to 190,000MT, forcing investors and farmers to demand huge investment in the sector.
Farmers link the drop in cocoa production to an increase in the number of unreplaced old and worn-out cocoa trees, as well as aging farmers, whose average age is 60 years.
“The average age of a cocoa farmer in Nigeria today is 60 years. For a crop that is highly labour-intensive, 60 years will not give the maximum impact in the industry,” Sayima Rima, president, Cocoa Association of Nigeria (CAN), told BusinessDay.
“Youths are not finding cocoa attractive because of the huge investment needed,” Rima had earlier told BusinessDay.
Cocoa is Nigeria’s flagship export product, occupying up to 25 percent of the total non-oil export value each year.
Long years of disinvestment and the inability of Africa’s most populous country to sustain and improve its production of cocoa over the years have led to a sharp decline in productivity to below 0.350 ton per hectare, when other leading countries such as Ivory Coast produce between two to five tons per hectare of improved variety.
Industry players say there will likely be a ten to 15 percent decline in production capacity by the end of 2017 when the numbers for the year are released.
“Cocoa production has been declining for some time now, but the current rate is very high, as a result of cumulative effects. The government needs to provide funds and attract young people into cocoa farming,” said Akin Olusuyi, chairman, Cocoa Processors Association of Nigeria (COPAN).
According to industry sources, the country currently produces less than 500kg of dry bean per hectare which is very low when compared to other cocoa producing countries.
Nigeria has two cocoa harvests which includes the smaller midcrop from April to June, and the main crop from October to December. The midcrop normally accounts for about 30 percent of Nigeria’s cocoa output, while the main crop accounts for the remaining percentage.
Akin Laoye, executive director, FTN Cocoa Processors PLC said “As a country we are no longer getting the full benefits of growing cocoa because productivity is low and no new investments are coming into the industry.
“There is need for new varieties that have a short gestation period of two years, to boost productivity and attract our youths,” Laoye said.
Similarly, high input costs, poor weather, foreign exchange scarcity, and financial crisis remain gridlocks to the cocoa industry.
“There are no new investments taking place in the industry and climate change is changing the weather conditions,” said Olusuyi, who was earlier quoted.
Another challenge facing the sector is the crisis rocking the 65,000 capacity Multritrex Integrated, the country’s largest cocoa processor.
Multritrex was shut down by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMNCON) over a N5 billion debt.
The company’s officials told BusinessDay that though the 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.
AfricanFarmer Mogaji, CEO, X-Ray Consulting Limited said there is a need to make the right investments along the cocoa value chain.
Mogaji said despite Nigeria’s huge supply-demand gap, there is an opportunity in the nylon industry which is yet to be tapped.
“The nylon is used in the sector to raise cocoa seedlings in the nursery before they are transplanted,” AfricanFarmer said.
Josephine Okojie
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