- Production stuck at 300kg p/htare despite improved seedlings — CRIN
- Africa needs climate-resilient cocoa varieties to boost yield — IITA
By Cynthia Alo & Kafayat Kokumo
The Federal Government (FG) has said that Nigeria loses about $2 billion annually in potential value from cocoa because the country’s processing capacity is largely underutilised.
Meanwhile, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), has said that West Africa needs high-yielding, climate-resilient cocoa varieties to improve productivity and protect farmers from the effects of climate change.
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, stated this in Lagos at a two-day Africa Cocoa and Coffee Conference organised by the Cocoa and Coffee Farmers Alliance Association of Africa, COCEFAAA in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, FMAFS, and the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, CRIN.
Kyari, who was represented by the Deputy Director of Tree Crops at FMAFs, Mr. Ajayi Olutobaba, said Nigeria has an installed cocoa processing capacity of about 2,000 tonnes annually, but only about 30 percent is currently utilised.
According to him, the FG was focused on moving Nigeria from simply producing cocoa to processing it into butter, liquor, powder and chocolate locally, adding that it would continue to position the country as a reliable cocoa exporter.
He stated: “Roughly $2 billion in value addition slips away every year. It is not a shortage of resources; it is an opportunity waiting for the right investors. For cocoa and coffee, it comes down to one idea: value addition, not just volume. Our goal is to add value, not export ban and we’ll make it easy for investors to build the factories to do it’’.
He further said, “We will back the renewal of aging farms and the growth of coffee with better seedlings, extension support, and enough for smallholder farmers. As we’ll make sure Nigerian produce keeps its place in the world best markets.And we must protect the harvest of tomorrow with better inputs, stronger pests and disease management, and climate-smart production.”
Kyari called on stakeholders in Africa to share research, align their standards and speak with one voice in the markets that buy their crops.
He stated: “Africa grows about 70% of the world’s cocoa, yet takes home only a tiny fraction of a chocolate industry worth over $130 billion. In coffee, our share of world production has fallen from 27.2% in the 1970s to about 12.5% today, and yet Ethiopia and Uganda each earned over $1.4 billion and $2 billion respectively from coffee over coffee export in 2025.
“If our neighbors can do it, the continent can do it, but none of us will get there alone.
“The EU deforestation regulation is no threat if we prepare early. We’ve been preparing for it.Traceability is simply how we protect our place at the table from farm to markets.”
Speaking on the theme, ‘Building sustainable value chains for cocoa and coffee across West, Central and East Africa’, acting Executive Director, Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, CRIN, Dr. Abiodun Adedeji, said Nigeria’s cocoa productivity remained between 250kg and 300kg per hectare annually despite years of government distribution of improved seedlings.
He called for better prices for farmers, greater local processing, stronger research and improved data to build a sustainable value chain.
He said: “Between 2011 and 2015, we gave out 601,000 pods free to farmers. After that, we had 300,000 seedlings during COVID. Presently, Federal Government has mandated CRIN to produce and give out 1 million improved hybrid cocoa seedlings. But between that 2011 and now, the Nigerian productivity still lies between 250 and 300 kg per hectare per year.”
Adedeji urged African countries to strengthen collaboration on research and development, saying the continent needed better varieties and production systems to address emerging challenges.
According to him, 90 percent of cocoa proceeds and over 70 percent of coffee proceeds go to non-producing countries, while Africa shares less than 10 per cent of cocoa and less than 30 per cent of coffee.
Global President & Founder COCEFAAA, and Convener of the conference, Comrade Adeola Adegoke, said Africa produces 80 percent of the world’s cocoa but captures less than 10 per cent of its value.
Adegoke said the 2023-2024 season recorded the largest global deficit in 60 years, about 490,000 tons, pushing prices above $10,000 before the International Cocoa Organization, ICCO reported a surplus and prices fell by 75 per cent.
“When there is bumper harvest, price goes down. When there is shock, price goes to $12,000, Robusta $15,000. Why should we produce more and earn less?” he said.
Representing the Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Systems, Abisola Olusanya, Director, Agribusiness, Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture and Food Systems, Mrs. Aramide Gansallo, said Africa must move from exporting raw cocoa and coffee beans to processing, branding and consuming its own products.
Olusanya said the transformation must also make agriculture attractive to young people by presenting it as a business, technology-driven industry and career.
Managing Director, Sunbeth Global Concepts, Olasunkanmi Owoyemi, who was represented by the Manager, Corporate Affairs & Communication, Abdussamad Abdurrahman said, “We have been content to be the world’s farm while others become the world’s kitchen.”
He said the company is building a 70,000 metric ton processing facility at its industrial park, which will be ready by next year to boost local value addition, stressing that traceability has become critical for market access.
Africa needs climate-resilient cocoa varieties to boost yield — IITA
Also speaking at the conference, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), has harped on the need for high-yielding, climate-resilient cocoa varieties to improve productivity and protect farmers from the effects of climate change.
The Institute disclosed that the region’s cocoa output had dropped by 10 per cent due to climate-related challenges, including extreme temperatures and erratic rainfall.
Senior Researcher at IITA, Ranjana Bhattacharjee, who stated this at the conference, advocated the adoption of alternative varieties, particularly Liberica and Stenophylla, as climate change threatens the sustainability of established varieties.
“The production of Liberica coffee is four times more than Arabica and Robusta. So, if Arabica is going down and Brazil is taking over, then you start growing Liberica and make sure that it becomes the legacy of Africa,” she said.
According to her, the decline highlights the urgent need for African cocoa-producing countries to adopt improved planting materials and farming practices capable of withstanding changing weather conditions while increasing yields.
She noted that ageing trees, unmanaged pests and diseases, high input costs, inadequate access to loans and international price volatility were also affecting cocoa and coffee production across the region.
Bhattacharjee urged West African producers to learn from Indonesia’s rising cocoa output by adopting high-yielding varieties, improving soil nutrition, strengthening crop protection and expanding access to agricultural credit.
She warned that climate pressures were worsening production challenges, particularly in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, where drought and cocoa swollen shoot virus disease were occurring simultaneously.
The researcher also called on African policymakers to address the disparity between the income earned by cocoa farmers on the continent and their counterparts in Latin America.
“Somewhere Africa gets $3,200, the farmers, while in Latin America they get $5,000. Why? My question is why? We are the highest producers of cocoa, then why should we not get that price? Farmer income 6 per cent in Africa while 31 per cent in Latin America. Why there is a system? policymakers have to fight for it,” she said.
Meanwhile, stakeholders at the conference stressed the need to strengthen the entire cocoa and coffee value chain.
Representing the governor of Abia State, Alex Otti , Deputy Gov. of the state , Engr. Ikechukwu Emetu said Africa must move beyond exporting raw commodities and retain more value through local processing, branding and exports.
He said, “The transformation of cocoa and coffee must therefore begin at the farm, but must not end there. From improved planting materials and agronomic practice through extension, aggregation, and post-harvest management to processing, branding, and export, everything determines the competitiveness of the final product.”
Also speaking, representative of Ondo State Government, Mrs. Foluke-Tunde Daramola, disclosed that the state had begun moves to revive cocoa production through improved seedlings and the rehabilitation of old plantations, alongside plans to establish 1,000 hectares of coffee at Oke-Agbe.
Meanwhile, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation Development, Cross River State,Dr.Joseph Odey highlighted the importance of traceability and deforestation-free production, noting that improved seedlings alone could not build a sustainable industry without reliable nurseries, extension services, processing facilities, finance and dependable markets.
Representing the Cocoa and Coffee Farmers Alliance Association of Africa (COCEFAAA) Ghana, Mr. Nana Reuben challenged stakeholders to examine whether African farmers were benefiting sufficiently from the industry and whether the ageing farming population offered a sustainable future for cocoa production.
The two-day conference brought together policymakers, researchers, farmers, investors and development partners to explore ways of building sustainable and competitive cocoa and coffee value chains across Africa.
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