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The president of
the Federation of Agricultural Commodity Associations of Nigeria
(FACAN), Dr. Victor Iyama, has attributed the continued decline in cocoa
production in Nigeria to the long period it takes to mature as well as
impatience among Nigerian youth, who are expected to embrace its
production.
Iyama, who spoke in
Abuja, yesterday, at the 2nd Daily Trust Agric Conference, said cocoa
was a good crop to invest in but required a lot of patience from youth
willing to go into its production.
"It's not four to six months, it is up to five years minimum but the beauty is that it can last for 70 years," he said.
Dr. Victor also
stated that production of cocoa beans from harvest up to the time when
it is properly fermented took between 27 and 30 days depending on the
weather.
He said chocolate was the easiest cocoa product to make and it generates large sums of money from the cocoa industry.
"Out of the 120
billion USD cocoa economy, less than 15 billion USD goes to cocoa beans,
cocoa cake and cocoa butter while the rest goes to chocolate," he said.
Dr. Victor noted
that cocoa was the second largest foreign exchange earner, next only to
oil, adding that 29 states in the country can produce cocoa.
"There's cocoa in
Adamawa, Taraba, Niger, Kogi and so many states have joined, it is no
longer a southern affair but a national affair," Dr. Victor said.
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