The Managing Director of Sunbeth Global Concepts, Olasunkanmi Owoyemi, recently published an exposé on Premium Times Nigeria, discussing his views on the various challenges hindering cocoa production in Nigeria and how to solve them.
The publication titled “Addressing the challenges of cocoa production in Nigeria” reflected the savvy leader’s in-depth insight into the global cocoa industry and how Nigeria compares to the rest of the cocoa-producing powerhouses worldwide.
The engrossing article gave a peek into the mind of the illustrious Agri-business man, demonstrating his ability to identify the salient issues facing the Nigerian cocoa value chain and propose actionable, practical solutions to them.
The MD started his treatise with a succinct description of the current state of the Nigeria cocoa industry. He explained that Nigeria may be the fourth largest producer of cocoa globally, only trailing behind Ivory Coast, Ghana, and Indonesia, but its output is still comparatively low. He cited that while the Ivory Coast produces 2,200,000 tonnes of cocoa beans annually, Nigeria’s total annual output is 340,163 tonnes, which doesn’t measure up to the country’s potential capacity.
Admittedly, cocoa remains Nigeria’s principal non-oil foreign exchange earner. And if any segment of the agricultural industry has shown a potential to improve the country’s economy and contribute to employment generation, it is the cocoa industry.
Nevertheless, the Nigerian cocoa industry continues to grapple with limiting challenges, such as poor infrastructure, inadequate research and development, the lack of funding for farming startups, dearth of mechanised farming techniques, poor education of farmers, aging farmers, and the lack of protection of local industries, all of which hamper its potential.
Demonstrating his problem-solving proficiency, SGCL’s MD, Olasunkanmi Owoyemi, proceeded to describe practical ways to address the factors hindering the Nigerian cocoa industry from hitting its potential. He highlighted the following solutions to that effect.
Increased Investment in Infrastructure
Stating that the absence of quality infrastructure in Nigeria has significant detrimental effects on the country’s cocoa value chain, the MD explained the need for collaboration between the government and private sector for investments in infrastructure development. He went further to advise that rural cocoa-producing areas should receive higher priority during the execution of infrastructural development projects.
Improving Research and Development for Cocoa Production
SGCL’s MD further went on to discuss the importance of continued research and development in the Nigerian cocoa industry. He buttressed the need for the government to partner with international organisations to set up new research institutes that are adequately funded and equipped with modern technologies for this purpose.
Improving the Quality of Farmers’ Education
Explaining that an industry can only be as prosperous as its people, Olasunkanmi Owoyemi reiterated that improving the quality of farmers’ education is crucial to improving the results of the Nigerian cocoa industry.
He mentioned that there is a need for the establishment of training centers for farmers to learn sustainable resource management practices such as soil and water conservation, among others. In addition, well-equipped agricultural extension workers should be mobilised to work closely with the farmers.
He went on to explain the importance of making financing accessible, protecting the local industry, and increasing youth participation in cocoa production, stating them as factors that are crucial to growing the industry.
He concluded the exposé by stating that the challenges of cocoa production in Nigeria may be numerous, but there are also numerous available strategies to address them. He encouraged stakeholders and government agencies to ramp up efforts to mitigate challenges militating against the growth of the cocoa industry in Nigeria.
Read the comprehensive treatise on Premium Times Nigeria
