FG Reaffirms Commitment to Boost Cocoa Production in Nigeria

Gilbert Ekugbe

The federal government has reaffirmed its commitment to boost cocoa production in the country.

The Minister of Agricultural and Rural Development, (FMARD), Mr. Mohammad Abubakar, has assured that the ministry would provide hybrid seeds and ensure timely provision of pesticides and other critical cocoa farm inputs to farmers.

He also promised that FMARD would also link farmer to financial institutions for financial support at affordable rates, support processors in order to add value to the farm produce.

Abubakar stated this while inaugurating a National Cocoa Management Committee (NCMC) in Abuja recently.

According to him, the inauguration would boost Living Income Differential (LID) for the cocoa smallholder farmers, guarantee quality, traceability, transparency and sustainability for cocoa value chain as well as meet export demands.

He added that the initiative would lead to working out modalities for Nigerian cocoa farmers to start benefitting from the project like their counterparts in Ghana and Cote d’ Ivorie.

In his welcome address, the Permanent Secretary of FMARD, Dr. Ernest Umakhihe, traced ‘the emergence of the committee to the outcome of the interactive meeting between the Nigerian cocoa delegation and the Ghanaian Cocoa Board in Accra, Ghana, in May, 2022.

The Chairman of the NCMC, Mr. Garuba Abubakar, assured that the committee would work assiduously to achieve its mandate and increase the production of quality of cocoa seeds that would meet export demand.

The committee’s terms of reference included the development of a framework for the regulation and monitoring of the activities in the cocoa sector to make the industry more transparent.