Nigeria in process to International Coconut community

The President, National Coconut Producers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria (NACOPPMAN), Amb. (Mrs) Okoroji, Nma Okechukwu has said Nigeria is putting together effort that will make her become member of International Coconut Community (ICC), saying membership would enhance standard production and processing to other derivative products.

Mrs. Nma Okechukwu who just yesterday returned from the International Cocotech Conference held between 7^th- 11^th November, 2022  told Food Farm News that Nigeria has a lot to benefit by becoming a full fledge member of the ICC with more exposition to modern farming techniques for coconut commercial productivity.

Okechukwu pointed that letter of invite for Nigerian membership had already been conveyed by the Executive Director of ICC, Jelfina C. Alouw to the Minister of Foreign Affair, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama, adding that the organization believed that the country’s membership would give us the benefit to attend biannual technical meeting of stakeholders in coconut where ideas are criss-cross for better farming using modern technologies.

She added that other benefits Nigeria would enjoy includes access to ICC publications where technical and market assistance could be sought for enhanced coconut productivity, just as avenue for getting grants from international donors with technical assistance from FAO and other specialised agencies becomes so easy to access.

Finally the greatest benefit according to NACOPPMAN president to become a member of ICC is access to large international network of coconut industry leaders including research experts, producers, oil millers, coconut products manufacturers, exporters and importers from various country members. 

In an exclusive interview granted while in Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Okechukwu in company of the Anambra state commissioner of Agriculture, Mr. Ihejiofor Foster said she was very impressed to be in the conference to showcase the potential of Nigeria in coconut production, stressed that more of the improved hybrid seeds must be given as take back home for practical agriculture, adding that best agronomics of farming would bring high production and productivity of food security matters.

According to her ‘‘we have learnt a lot from the ICC as we hope to be here next year. We expect that coconut hybrid seedlings will be given to us as take away to plant as experiment to what we have learnt in the conference.

She however advised that the organizer of the event must be ready to assist participants in ensuring easy procurement of visa to attend the next event coming up in two years' time, while the Agric Commissioner, Mr. Ihejiofor Foster advocated that awards should be given to those participants who have really promoted the cultivation of the crops with value addition and marketing saying it would give encouragement to its productivity.

 Ambassador Okechukwu in her paper presentation in the conference told the international stakeholders the potential of Nigeria in coconut saying a processing factory has been established in Akwa-Ibom state with capacity to employ thousands of people just as 200 improved hybrid seedlings were supplied to all states that have secured land for coconut pilot plantation project while effort to mobilize for over ten thousand farmers across the states is ongoing.

She mentioned one hectare coconut plantation in Ebonyi state with commendation to Anambra State government  for investing interestingly  in the crop’s development through provision of improved hybrid seedlings  to small scale farmers with best agricultural practices across other cash crops in Agriculture to generate wealth and employment for the people, added that production in 2019 and 2020 was 229,578 tons and 265,835 respectively thereby making Nigeria 18th position in the crop producing countries of the world.

The NACOPPMAN national president identified other products expected to be derived from coconut trees as including coconut milk, sugar, coconut water, chips among others, adding that the membership of Nigeria into the ICC would enhance standard productivity through improved farming system.