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| cocoa |
*Agric, Trade ministers promise rescue
*FACAN, CAN
enumerate benefits
The
membership of Nigeria in the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) may soon
be withdrawn for low production performance even as the Government has been
struggling to diversify the economy through Agriculture.
This was
disclosed by the Executive Director, International Cocoa Organization (ICCO),
Dr. Jean-Mar Anga during his visit to the minister of Agriculture, Chief
Audu Ogbeh in Abuja, recently.
Anga who
came in company of director, African Export-Import, Bank, Mr. Kofi Adomakoh,
and members of Federation of Commodity Association (FACAN) and Cocoa
Association of Nigeria (CAN) said that the present annual output of Nigeria is
190,000 metric tons which is a far cry from the potential capacity if
production along the value chains are encouraged.
Although the
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) Chief Audu Ogbeh has
promised that the needful would be done to avert the removal by seeing Mr.
President on the matter.
He then
asked both FACAN and CAN to come up with action plan towards positive drive of
the produce along nine others.
A Director,Federal
Ministry of Trade and Investment, MrsOpe Ewe in her review of the situation put
the annual cocoa production in Nigeria at 350,000 ton,and fourth in the world
as this figure seems not in tandem with ICCO rating of the sixth position of
the nation with Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Cameroon and Ecuador leading .
MrsOpe Ewe
who was among the ICCO team that visited the minister said that a letter of
agreement on the better repositioning of cocoa crop is already on the table of
the President Mohammudu Buhari for ascent, and solicited a support for his Trade
and Investment minister towards encouraging the President to sign so as to
avert our membership removal from the comity of the world cocoa producing
nations.
This position
was corroborated by both the FACAN and CAN presidents as they posited that the
past neglect to agriculture in the country had hindered the development of the
nation’s economy with many infrastructure dilapidated saying Nigeria can do
much better if more rigorous effort is deployed to the crop value chains for
wealth and job creation for the youths.
FACAN
President, Dr. Victor Iyama lamented the
state of the agricultural production that has gone so low due to government’s
neglect of the sector saying proactive policy drive on ten agricultural crops
can bail out Nigeria from her present economic predicament with provision of efficient
infrastructure like they have in Ecuador.
Dr. Iyama
added that majority of the cocoa pods given out by government in the past never
got to nursery as there was no monitoring like the ones given to CAN which was
well monitored for multiplication stressed that the new improved cocoa
varieties can grow in Kaduna and many other parts of the country, adding
Nigeria can grow one million tons in just two years as the crop can be grown in
about twenty nine states as majority crops can now grow in different ecologies
of the country.
Speaking
also, the CAN president, Mr. SayinaRiman who appreciated the present level of
government interaction with private sector pointed that more government support
to cocoa productivity at all the value chains would attract foreign grants and interventions
added that youths need to be encouraged into farming to replace the older
people.
Mr. Riman
equally lamented on the dying condition of many processing companies, low level
of cocoa consumption and fertilizer utilization that enable cocoa tree plants
to retain water in the bodies for better fruits production saying that “there
are lot of grants other countries are enjoying on cocoa but Nigeria cannot
because we have not provided an enabling environment”
The
Agriculture Minister who attentively listened to the plight of private
stakeholders in the cocoa sub-sector however promised a very proactive action
with directive that FACAN, CAN and Cocoa Processors of Nigeria should partner
with the desk officer of the ministry with an aim of finding solution with presentation
of an action paper as soon as possible.
Chief Ogbeh
promised to ensure that Nigeria is not removed from ICCO by doing everything
possible to see President Buhari on the matter saying farmers in Nigeria could
only make small amount of money from the large chunk of dollar opportunity in
both coffee and cocoa world market.
The Minister however ordered that FMARD cocoa
desk and CAN should partner on monitoring and enlightenment as he promised that
the ministry would look for money to carry out the exercise towards ensuring
development of the crop for productivity saying “We will work to ensure that
Nigeria is not removed from ICCO. The 70 billion dollar of world trade
opportunity in coffee and cocoa, it is only 6 billion that get to small holder
farmers“
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