FG targets 500,000 tonnes of cocoa by 2015

The federal government plans to increase cocoa production from the
present 300,000 tonnes to 500,000 tonnes by 2015, says Dr Akinwunmi
Adesina, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Adesina said this on Monday in Abuja during an interactive session with the reformed Cocoa Development committee.

He said that with the release of eight hybrid breed cocoa species by
the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN), the country could
achieve the production of one million tonnes in subsequent years.

He said that the government had adopted a holistic approach toward
improving cocoa production which included collaborating with the 22
cocoa producing state governments.

In this regard, he said that efforts were ongoing to put in place
a cocoa investment fund and create new financial instrument with the
banks under the value chain system.

The minister also said that strategies had been put in place for the
replacement of old cocoa trees and also to create seedlings for
nurseries across the cocoa producing states for easy access to farmers.

Adesina challenged the committee to work out modalities towards
setting up a corporation to ensure that Nigeria’s cocoa
industry was productive, efficient and competitive in the global market.

He said that for easy implementation of programmes, the Central Bank
of Nigeria (CBN) had included cocoa in the 450-billion-dollar Nigerian
Incentive Base Risk Sharing for Agricultural Lending.

Responding, Akin Olusuyi, the President, Cocoa Processors of
Nigeria, commended the efforts of government towards repositioning cocoa
production under the value chain system, saying that it would enable
farmers to have value for their efforts.