Nigeria’s Cocoa Revival Needs Farm Renewal, Funding, Reforms — Stakeholders

Nigeria’s efforts to increase cocoa production could fall short without urgent investment in ageing plantations, affordable financing for farmers and institutional reforms to address longstanding gaps in the industry, cocoa stakeholders have warned.

They argued that improved seedlings alone would not deliver the desired increase in productivity unless farmers received sustained financial and technical support, access to quality inputs, better market incentives and technologies to improve farm management.

The stakeholders, who spoke in separate interviews with Daily Independent, said revitalising the sector required a coordinated approach involving government, private-sector operators and development partners to tackle the structural challenges limiting production, farmers’ earnings and Nigeria’s competitiveness in the global cocoa market.

One of the major concerns is the condition of existing plantations, many of which, according to the stakeholders, contain old and declining trees that produce below their potential.

James Oyesola, a member of the National Cocoa Management Committee (NCMC), said rehabilitating such farms and establishing new plantations with improved varieties were necessary to raise productivity.

He advocated technical and financial support for the removal of unproductive trees, rehabilitation of degraded farms, improvement of soil fertility and establishment of new plantations using improved planting materials.

According to him, distributing improved seedlings without addressing the condition of existing farms would limit the overall impact of efforts to increase cocoa production.

The argument, he said, is that improved planting materials must form part of a broader production strategy that enables farmers to establish and maintain productive plantations.

Oyesola, who is also the Ogun State Cocoa representative and Director of Tree Crops and Climate Change in the state’s Ministry of Agriculture, noted that cocoa farming required sustained investment in land preparation, planting, fertiliser application, weed control, pest and disease management and labour before farmers could begin to earn returns.

This long investment period, he said, makes access to affordable financing particularly important for smallholder farmers, who must commit resources to their farms well before the trees become productive.

He therefore called for low-interest loans, credit guarantees and financing arrangements specifically designed around the cocoa production cycle.

Such mechanisms, he explained, would help farmers meet the cost of establishing and maintaining plantations while enabling them to adopt improved production technologies without exposing themselves to excessive financial risks.

Oba Dokun Thompson, the Oloni of Eti-Oni in Osun State and founder of the International Cocoa Diplomacy (ICD), also stressed the importance of innovative financing in attracting investment into agriculture.

He disclosed that discussions were ongoing with the Federal Government on the use of blended finance and green insurance models to reduce investment risks and encourage greater private-sector participation.

According to him, these initiatives could provide a framework for supporting farmers while making agricultural investment more attractive to private investors.

He said successful implementation would benefit farmers and contribute to the wider transformation of Nigeria’s agricultural sector.

Beyond financing, the stakeholders identified inadequate technical support as another challenge that could prevent farmers from maximising the benefits of improved planting materials.

Oyesola said the availability of improved seedlings would not automatically translate into higher yields without effective agricultural extension services to guide farmers through the production process.

He explained that farmers required continuous training in planting techniques, pruning, shade management, soil fertility improvement and integrated pest and disease management.

Support was also needed in harvesting, fermentation, drying and quality preservation, which are important aspects of cocoa production and the maintenance of product quality.

He further advocated climate-smart cocoa production practices to strengthen farmers’ resilience to changing weather conditions.

Thompson said government, state authorities and development partners had invested in capacity-building programmes designed to expose farmers to modern agricultural practices beyond traditional production methods.

According to him, the training programmes were increasingly incorporating climate change adaptation measures alongside conventional approaches to pest and disease management.

The stakeholders maintained that consistent technical guidance would be necessary to ensure that farmers could apply improved production methods effectively and sustain productivity gains over time.

Access to quality farm inputs also featured prominently in their recommendations.

Oyesola said farmers needed timely and affordable supplies of fertilisers, certified agrochemicals and improved farm tools, as well as irrigation support where necessary.

He warned that delays in input delivery could disrupt farm operations, while substandard products could undermine productivity and discourage farmers from making further investments.

For cocoa farmers to benefit fully from improved varieties and modern farming practices, he said, the necessary inputs must be available when required and at costs they could reasonably afford.

The stakeholders also pointed to technology as an increasingly important tool for improving farm management, monitoring crop conditions and strengthening the sustainability of Nigeria’s cocoa industry.

Thompson explained that the National Traceability and Sustainability Framework being developed by the Federal Government incorporates satellite and remote-sensing capabilities to monitor crop health, provide early warnings of potential threats and improve yield prediction.

He said the technology could support better-informed production decisions by helping to identify potential threats to crop health and improve the monitoring of cocoa farms.

The framework, he suggested, could also contribute to efforts to strengthen traceability and sustainability across the industry.

However, the stakeholders said increased production must be accompanied by improved market opportunities and more rewarding prices if farmers are to remain willing to invest in cocoa cultivation.

Oyesola argued that farmers would be more likely to expand production when they could secure fair returns for their efforts.

He called for stronger market linkages, quality-based pricing systems, certification programmes and increased local value addition to improve farmers’ earnings and strengthen the industry.

He also highlighted the importance of well-organised farmer cooperatives, which could improve farmers’ bargaining power while facilitating access to financing, inputs and markets.

According to him, strengthening these arrangements would help connect production support with the commercial opportunities needed to sustain investment at the farm level.

Ayo Akinola, a member of the NCMC and Country Focal Person for the ICCO-led African Cocoa Exchange (AfCX) Programme, said the challenges confronting Nigeria’s cocoa industry extended beyond farm productivity.

He identified institutional, regulatory, production, market, certification and sustainability gaps as issues requiring coordinated attention across the value chain.

According to him, the current drive to improve production should provide an opportunity to deepen collaboration among government, private-sector operators and development partners while promoting precision agriculture, climate-smart farming practices and digital technologies.

He said these innovations could improve yields, reduce production costs, strengthen resilience to climate change, enhance biodiversity and reduce environmental degradation.

Akinola added that the adoption of such approaches could also create opportunities to attract younger people into cocoa farming, helping to make the sector more appealing to a new generation of agricultural entrepreneurs.

He advocated a Development Public Private Partnership model capable of building a sustainable and competitive cocoa agribusiness aligned with international sustainability expectations.

For him, improving production without addressing the institutional challenges affecting the sector would leave important gaps in the industry’s development.

Akinola said the absence of a central coordinating mechanism had contributed to fragmented responsibilities among ministries, government agencies, trade organisations and development partners, weakening confidence in Nigeria’s cocoa sector.

He advocated the creation of a cocoa-driven commodity exchange platform to strengthen price discovery, geo-referencing, traceability and blockchain mechanisms across the value chain.

According to him, these measures could support Nigeria’s long-term cocoa development ambitions while improving the credibility and competitiveness of its cocoa in international markets.

The proposed reforms, he said, should complement investments in farm rehabilitation, financing, technical support and technology rather than operate as isolated interventions.

The stakeholders maintained that sustainable growth in cocoa production would depend on the ability to address the interconnected challenges confronting farmers and other participants across the value chain.

They argued that improved seedlings would deliver limited results if farmers lacked the resources to establish plantations, rehabilitate ageing farms, obtain quality inputs and maintain effective production practices.

Similarly, they said, higher output would be difficult to sustain without attractive market returns, effective extension services, appropriate technology and stronger institutional coordination.

They called for sustained collaboration among government, private-sector operators, financial institutions and development partners to ensure that production support was matched by the resources and structures required to maintain productive plantations.

Seyi Taiwo-Oguntuase is a visionary writer. She Writes on business and agricultural related issues among several other issues of national interest. She likes travelling and impacting on people who comes across her.

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