Cocoa producers seek N150b bail-out fund

[TGD]

 COCOA farmers and producers in the country are cashing in on the recent short supply in world cocoa supply to beef up their activities, improve on quality of yield and further penetrate international cocoa markets.

To this end, they are canvassing a special intervention fund to the tune of N150 billion to enable them expand their farms and procure necessary machinery to make them more competitive.

Speaking yesterday in Abuja at a conference , National Vice President of the Cocoa Association of Nigeria, Mr. Akin Gbadamosi said that Nigeria had the capacity to become number one cocoa producer in the world.

International Cocoa Association rates Nigeria as the fourth cocoa producer in the world.  Before the Ivoirian election crisis,Cote d'Ivoire with yearly production strength of 1.2 million tonnes was rated as number one cocoa producer in the world followed by Ghana (632,000 tonnes), Indonesia (535,000 tonness) and Nigeria (240,000 tonnes).

Executive Director of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, Mr. David Adulugba, who spoke at the conference, recalled that new legislations on Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs) had affected some consignments of cocoa beans entry into European Union (EU) counties, Japan and the United States (U.S.)  due to higher concentration of pesticides residues about the maximum residue levels.

He stressed: "In an attempt to eradicate pests or put their population under bearable levels, we often utilise various substances to fight them. Over the years, misuse of these pesticides in our justified attempt to control and attack these pests has come to the fore. The misuse of these chemicals often results in negative effects on persons, products, environment, livestock, etc.

"This development is worrisome given its health and economic implications to man. It therefore, becomes pertinent to address these challenges as they emerge for them not to become national and international barriers against the development of the cocoa industry."

He stated that the stakeholders gathered at the conference would be enlightened on these chemicals, the dangers and socio-economic implications of using both banned and harmful pesticides on cocoa and non-compliance with maximum residual levels. Issues around sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures in Nigerian cocoa, he added, would be addressed.

"Non-compliance with acceptable maximum residue levels portends threats to life, waste of resources, danger to the ecosystem, the environment, among others. Monitoring and enforcement of the relevant regulatory and legal provisions guiding the international market access for Nigerian cocoa is therefore highly essential," he said.

He expressed Nigeria's desire to retain its international market share of the commodity and expand the market through increased production of high quality cocoa and cocoa products that translate into increased revenue for the country.

Adulugba, who was represented by the Director in charge of Trade Information, Mr. Lawal Aliyu, noted: "According to the Cobalt Inspection Services annual reports, in 2009 Nigeria earned $66,295, 907, while in 2010 Nigeria earned $88, 812, 813 from the export of cocoa and cocoa products. This accounted for about 38.5per cent  of the non-oil export for the year 2010. The bulk of the export goes to the EU countries such as The Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Belgium and Italy. These are our major trading partners in the cocoa business.

"The Federal Government through the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, amongst others, has continued to encourage the development and promotion of cocoa and cocoa products for the export market through its various instruments such as the organization of conferences like the non-oil export incentives like the Export Expansion Grant (EEG) for cocoa and cocoa products exporters, capacity building along the value chain, improvement of infrastructure facilities, our operational environment to make our products more competitive in the international market."



Source: Cocoa producers seek N150b bail-out fund