Article

Cocoa Central Station

IITA, iNew

In a newly renovated building in southwest Nigeria, the jubilant roar of voices isn't just the sound of celebration-it's the sound of the cocoa sector getting back on its feet. The recent launching of a new Trade and Information Center in Bamikemo, Ondo State is the reason for the noise.

While cocoa was an important crop to Nigeria in years past, poor quality and inadequate attention have led to deterioration of the sector, with production decreasing by nearly a third in the last 20 years. The Sustainable Tree Crops Program (STCP), hosted by IITA, has been working to redress this through a pilot project focused on four key areas: farmers' organizations, technology transfer, marketing, and social issues including child labor.

As part of its strategies, STCP is working to help strengthen the Tonikoko Farmers Union, an umbrella cooperative of 35 farmers' societies in Ondo state. The union will facilitate various activities to support the cocoa sector, with its latest achievement being the opening of the Trade and Information Center in March 2004.

With funding from USAID and the chocolate industry, the center will act as the commercial hub for cocoa trade in the area. Farmers will have access to a warehouse where cocoa can be stored or bonded as collateral. There is space for meetings and soon the center (its already said that it is a trade and information center) will be equipped to receive and disseminate market information. All the resources farmers and traders need are there under one roof.

"This project marks the beginning of a new life for the smallholder cocoa farmer," says STCP-Nigeria project manager Dr Chris Okafor. "If successful, we can use it as a model for the revitalization of cocoa production and trade, replicating it across the cocoa belt of Nigeria."

Already, other societies have expressed interest in joining the project. With the resources and the enthusiasm in place, work is well on the way to making cocoa a profitable crop for farmers in Nigeria again. - IITA

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Article courtesy of i.New, International institute of tropical agriculture (IITA).

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