Poor access to loan hinders growth of cocoa farming

d government neglect of the sector, stressing that Nigeria cannot move forward by being exporter of raw cocoa rather than processing which is an added value.

“Cocoa used to be the mainstay of Nigeria export in the days of Cocoa House in Ibadan, Cocoa Research Institute but things fell apart after structural adjustment and the commodity board was the first victim of that.

“It has not been easy for that industry. What we are getting as value out of the chocolate industry is probably three percent, which is sad and the obvious reason why we are lagging behind is neglect by the government.

“As long as we keep exporting raw cocoa, we are also exporting jobs along with it and you get peanuts also in the market.

“Each time they say the oil prices go down to a frightening level, everybody starts scampering and talking about non-oil export but once it starts to pick up a little, everybody just forget that they ever mentioned that. So, the point is that it is neglected,” he said.

In his presentation, the Executive Secretary, Institute of Export Operations and Management, Mr. Ofon Udofia, pointed out that there’s need for the government at all levels to collaborate with the private sector towards assisting farmers in capacity building in order to enable them get the needed certification that would meet international standards.

“It is high time the government partner with the private sector. There is a gap and that gap is not helping us in the sense that even though we want to produce chocolate and send to the world market, how many farmers in Nigeria have access to essential services and then certification? How many cocoa farms are certified?

“In as much that they want to buy from us, we have over 220 voluntary standards that must be followed for the products to enter the international market. So the government should assist farmers get the needed certification to enable them sell well,” he said.