Nigeria presents document to boost cocoa production

The Federal Government of Nigeria presented this Tuesday a training manual for agricultural extensionists and farmers to boost cocoa production in the country.

Speaking during the presentation on the cocoa production update and manual by researchers, Dr Mohammad Abubakar, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, expressed his optimism that the initiative would boost cocoa production in Nigeria.

“This document will go a long way in boosting the cocoa industry in terms of extension, production, processing and export services,” he said.

He said that the country had not been successful in cocoa production, but expressed his optimism that through the production of the manual many things would improve.

The minister praised the partners who carried out the research on cocoa, saying that “without research, there will be no innovation”.

Abubakar said that much progress had been made in the production of the cocoa manual as a result of research articulated by experts.

“You will have increased performance; you will have improved seeds, everything you can think of because they are in the manual. The investigation brought all these things to light.

“I can assure you of an increase in performance. In fact, Nigeria should be the best cocoa producing country in the world.

“I think now is the time for us to start exporting raw cocoa and cocoa powder so that it increases the value chain and the income of the farmers,” he said.

In a presentation on the cocoa soil project, Mr Frank Kudla, Director of the Federal Department of Agricultural Extension (FDAE), said that the project was a five-year program funded by the Government.

“The objective of the project is to provide improved soil fertility management recommendations to cocoa farmers in Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana and Ivory Coast.

“This is in addition to the development of specific fertilizers for cocoa and the establishment of cocoa plantations from flat land that is not a forest area,” said Kudla.

In addition, the Focal Person for Nigeria on cocoa soils, Dr Moses Ogunlade, said that the document was a training manual for extension agents to train cocoa farmers on best practices in production.