The Federal Government on Wednesday rolled out one million improved cocoa seedlings for distribution to farmers as part of efforts to revive Nigeria’s cocoa industry and boost export earnings.
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Mr Abubakar Kyari, announced the initiative at the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN), Ibadan, describing it as a key step toward restoring the country’s global competitiveness in cocoa production.
He said the improved seedlings would be distributed to cocoa-producing states to replace ageing trees, enhance productivity, and increase farmers’ yields.
“The purpose is larger than the seedlings. It is to restore the strength of our cocoa industry, lift the livelihoods of our farmers, grow our export earnings, and return Nigeria to a leading place in the global cocoa economy,” Kyari said.
Speaking under the theme “Scaling Sustainable Cocoa Production for Export Competitiveness and Farmer Prosperity under the Renewed Hope Agenda,” the minister noted that cocoa once played a central role in Nigeria’s economic development.
He recalled that cocoa revenues historically funded major landmarks and policies, including the Cocoa House in Ibadan, the establishment of the University of Ife, and free education in the former Western Region.
“We did not lose our soil, our climate or our farmers. We lost our place, and our place is what we have come to win back,” he said.
Kyari said the government had repositioned agriculture as a central pillar of economic reform, aimed at increasing food production, retaining value locally, and improving farmers’ incomes.
According to him, cocoa remains a strategic national crop with significant export potential and historical importance, particularly in the South-West, which accounts for the bulk of production.
He added that cocoa cultivation is also expanding into the South-South and other emerging agricultural zones, describing it as a national crop with a national mission.
The minister outlined three key priorities for the sector: improving productivity through research and quality planting materials, increasing local value addition, and ensuring that farmers benefit directly from industry gains.
He reiterated the government’s commitment to reversing the decline in cocoa production and building a modern, resilient, and globally competitive industry.
Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr Marcus Ogunbiyi, said cocoa remains one of Nigeria’s most strategic agricultural commodities and a major source of foreign exchange.
He, however, noted that the sector has been constrained by ageing plantations, low productivity, limited access to improved seedlings, climate challenges, pests and diseases, and weak value addition.
Ogunbiyi explained that the one million improved cocoa seedlings were produced by the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN) under a Public-Private Partnership arrangement, describing the initiative as an investment in the future of the cocoa economy.
According to him, the programme will support plantation renewal, youth participation in agriculture, improved incomes, export expansion, and rural development.
In his remarks, the Director of Tree Crops and Climate Change, Ogun State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr James Oyesola, described the initiative as a renewed commitment to rebuilding Nigeria’s cocoa industry.
He said it represents hope for farmers, stronger rural economies, increased foreign exchange earnings, and improved national food security.
Oyesola urged sustained collaboration among stakeholders, improved research funding, climate-smart agricultural practices, and greater involvement of young people and women in cocoa production.
He added that Nigeria possesses the natural advantage and institutional capacity to reclaim its position among the world’s leading cocoa producers if current efforts are sustained.
Source: NAN
