Guardian

THE Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Akinwunmi Adeshina, said that the nation’s march towards economic diversification through agricultural rebirth would receive a new boost with the introduction of new entity in the cocoa sub-sector.

Adesina, who made the disclosure in an interview in Washington on the sidelines of a meeting of the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF), noted that investments in processing will allow 25 per cent of the cocoa to be consumed domestically, while new warehouses will provide storage necessary to time sales at better market prices.

He said that the Cocoa Corporation of Nigeria, which will be led by the industry, will help revive the domestic industry and double production of the chocolate-making ingredient to 500,000 metric tonnes in two years.

He explained that Nigeria earned about $900 million from cocoa exports in 2012, while agriculture was responsible for about 44 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product.

According to him, sustaining the economy beyond oil would mean that Nigeria’s pride of place as the world’s fourth largest producer of cocoa would be protected and supported to ensure a meaningful contribution to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product.

“We are putting Nigeria back into the world cocoa market. After becoming the second-largest exporter in the 1960s, Nigeria lost market share to Ivory Coast (Cote d’Ivoire), Ghana and Indonesia as the country concentrated its resources on oil production,” he said.

Meanwhile, cocoa futures traded in New York were up 5.8 per cent this year at $2,366 per metric tonne, on signs that demand for chocolate is rising.

In the first quarter, North America’s grindings, a measure of demand by end-users, unexpectedly rose 5.8 per cent from a year earlier, according to the National Confectioners Association in Washington.

The minister said that Nigerian will regulate the new cocoa corporation, while local officials will contribute land and the central bank will handle the development finance.

He noted that supporters, including the WCF, which works with private companies and government donors to train farmers in sustainable growing practices, would also be involved at the ground level.