COMMUNIQUE ISSUED AT 3RD NATIONAL COCOA FESTIVAL

Communique of a two-day 3rd National Cocoa Festival themed Calabar 2024 on the Roles of the National Cocoa Management Committee and Others in Mobilizing Stakeholders into European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) Compliance and Cocoa Value Addition and Youth Entrepreneurship: Key to Nigeria Cocoa Sustainability Organized by the Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria (CFAN) and Cocoa Roundtable Initiative (CORI) on Wednesday October 23rd and Thursday October 24th, 2024 in Calabar, Cross River State. BACKGROUND Nigeria\\\\\\\'s cocoa industry, a significant contributor to the national economy, faces critical challenges in complying with the European Union\\\\\\\'s Deforestation Regulations (EUDR). To address these challenges and leverage opportunities for growth, the Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria (CFAN) and Cocoa Roundtable Initiative (CORI) convened all relevant stakeholders in the cocoa industry, both local and international to its 3rd National Cocoa Festival, tagged Calabar 2024 to deliberate on achieving EUDR compliance and cocoa value chain sustainability through youth entrepreneurship. This event brought together over 300 participants. PARTICIPANTS Government and MDAs The Governor of Cross River State, His Excellency; Senator Prince Bassey Edet Otu, ably represented by the Hon. Commissioner for Agriculture and Irrigation Development, Hon. Johnson A. Ebokpo Jnr. Secretary to State Government of Cross River State Hon. Minister of Agriculture and Food Security ably represented Representatives of Ondo, Edo, Ogun, Abia, Akwa-Ibom, Oyo, Ekiti, Kwara, and Delta States. Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN) Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria (FRIN) Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) Private Companies/Organizations SUNBETH Global OFI AGNIMBLE HARVESTFIELD JOHNVENTS BARRY CALLEBAUT HELP FARMERS, CAMEROON PULA AFEX ROBUST LTD CALCCIMA CHOICE AGRO BUHLER International Development Organizations International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) European Union delegation (EU) Lutheran World Relief (LWR) World Conservation Society (WCS) RAINFOREST ALLIANCE (RA) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) International Finance Corporation (IFC-WB) United State Department of Agriculture (USDA) PROPCOM+ Traditional Institutions Etung - HRM Anthony Ntui Etta Odukpani - HRM Etinyin Otu Asuquo Mesembe VI JP Akamkpa – HRM Agbor Ewa Ebani Ikom – HRM Ninew Atamgba Bekwarra – HRM Odey Linus Ogboche Akpabuyo – HRM Agbor Ewa Ebani Boki – HRM Otu Fridalin E. Akandu JP. Obanliku – HRM Amb. Dr. Uchua Amos Uyumulam Item Obubra - HRM The Ovia of Obubra Indigenous Organizations/Associations Cocoa Association of Nigeria (CAN) Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria (CFAN) Cocoa Roundtable Initiative (CORI) Cocoa farmers across the cocoa producing States in Nigeria. OBJECTIVES To provide a comprehensive overview of the European Union Deforestation Regulations (EUDR) and its implications on Nigeria’s cocoa industry To develop strategies for mapping of land under cocoa cultivation to extablish traceability, monitoring deforestation and encourage sustainable practices in cocoa supply chains in order to achieve total due diligence in the Nigerian cocoa sector. To foster partnerships among stakeholders to support deforestation-free cocoa production and protect our ecosystem. To explore innovative technologies and practices for youth entrepreneurship in cocoa production, processing and value addition. To clarify roles/responsibilities of National Cocoa Management Committee (NCMC), government agencies, cocoa farmers, buyers, processors, exporters and other stakeholders. After exhaustive discussion during the various panel sessions, the 2-day event made the following observations and recommendations. CHALLENGES IDENTIFIED Low local consumption of cocoa products Lack of accurate data on cocoa production and cocoa value chain Knowledge gap about EUDR and other relevant regulations among the farmers and stakeholders. Farmers are faced with soil degradation, pests and diseases, post harvesting processing infrastructures, access to low digit financing etc. Wrong use and proliferation of adulterated agrochemicals Lack of access to cocoa policy document Outdated forest cover and land use maps Poor land tenure system Little or no collaboration among industry players on data sharing Low adoption rate of traceability system and practices. Outdated farming practices and limited access to quality inputs. Increased impact of climate change on production and poor adoption of mitigation techniques on farms Insufficient investment and poor adoption rate of agricultural technology and innovation RECOMMENDATIONS Shift of focus to local processing and consumption of cocoa products. Government and NCMC need to take the lead in updating and harmonizing available data on cocoa value chain. Sensitizations and awareness campaign should be carried out for stakeholders in cocoa value chain on EUDR and other relevant regulations. Farmers should key into the available sustainability initiatives around them and adopt best agronomic practices Government, NCMC, National Task Force (NTF) and other stakeholders should intensify effort to flush out adulterated agrochemicals from the industry. More efforts on building farmers capacity on safe & responsible handling of agrochemicals and diversification for sustainability. NCMC should ensure the completion and publication of the national cocoa policy. Government, NCMC and NTF should ensure the updating of the forest cover and land use maps in all cocoa producing states. Review of existing land tenure system by the government. Government should initiate a national traceability system in collaboration with development partners and industry experts. Government should improve support to research institutes to increase adoption of Climate Smart Agricultural practices by farmers. Government should introduce policy on agroforestry practices in cocoa farming. Stakeholders need to develop an effective mechanism for collaboration and feedback collection from the industry players Government should ensure an enabling environment for private sectors and youth participation in cocoa value chain for sustainability. Improved effort on infrastructure development in rural areas where cocoa is grown There should be policy interventions to stabilize naira and make it easier for farmers to access foreign exchange for essential imports. NCMC should collaborate and partner with leading countries in cocoa business, learn their strategies and work closely with them for sustainable growth of the industry. Government and MDAs should create platforms and attractive opportunities for youths to learn cocoa value chain businesses such as making of soap, chocolates, and cocoa powder in collaboration with the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria as this is crucial to ensuring sustainability of the industry. CONCLUSION The participants expressed their delight and appreciation to the leadership of the Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria (CFAN) and Cocoa Roundtable Initiative (CORI) for organizing this important event. It is believed that the two-day event has opened the eyes of the stakeholders to the key challenges facing the industry and opportunities available to leverage on towards compliance with the EUDR and ensure the sustainability of the industry through youth involvement. The forum unanimously agreed that the political will of government is a crucial factor to drive the implementations of these recommendations to achieve the desired outcomes. COMMUNIQUE DRAFTING COMMITTEE S/N NAMES ORGANISATIONS 1. MR. KAZEEM SANNI RAINFOREST ALLIANCE 2. DR. ONYA N. ONYA Academia 3. DR. A.O. AKINPELU CRIN 4. MR. KENNETH A. ITTAH CALCCIMA 5. MR. KAMALUDEN RAJI AFEX 6. MR. NSIDIBE ETIM AGNIMBLE 7. MR. WILLIAM IFERE DIRECTOR COCOA, CROSS RIVER STATE 8. HRM ANTHONY N. ETA PARAMOUNT RULER, ETUNG 9. MR. BOLAWA OLADOKUN LWR-TRACE 10. MR. MUSA TIAMIYU CFAN 11. MRS ENOBONG D. UDO FRIN

Posted on: 2024-11-11

Icco Executive Director, Mitchel Arrion @ 3rd Cocoa Fes

ICCO Executive Director, Mitchel Arrion giving a deep appraisal of the global cocoa economy and an insightful analysis of Nigeria Cocoa industry @ 3rd National Cocoa Festival held at Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria on the 23rd & 24th October, 2024.

Posted on: 2024-10-27

3rd National Cocoa Festival @ Calabar, Cross River Stat

The celebration of this year 3rd National Cocoa Festival tagged Calabar 2024 had come and gone but the outcomes will come to reverberate forever. While participants identification of problems and solutions might be the game changer and panacea to EUDR sustainability challenges in Nigeria. Comrade Adeola Adegoke, the National President of Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria(CFAN), DG,Cocoa Roundtable Initiative(CORI) and CEO, Farmers Agro Investment Limited delivered the welcome address. He emphasized in his address that Calabar was chosen having hosted the first and second festival in Akure, Ondo State and Abuja fct. And that Cross State as the second largest cocoa producing States in Nigeria after Ondo State remains the future of cocoa production development not only in Nigeria but the entire Africa continent. He also charged participants to proffer best solutions to EUDR implementation, mapped out strategies to move the industry forward and outlined plan for the youth inclusiveness in the sector. Stakeholders across the entire value chain attended: farmers, buyers, processors, exporters, researchers, extensionists, policy makers and government of cocoa producing States in Nigeria. Another milestone recorded in the festival was the attendance of the International Cocoa Organization ICCO, Executive Director, Mitchel Arrion and his team and the representative of World Cocoa Foundation WCF Vice President, Peter Koegler and the Country Director Ghana, Muffi Coffi. The festival was opened by the Executive Governor of Cross River State, Prince Bassey Otu but ably represented by the Commissioner for Agriculture and Irrigation Development, Hon. Johnson Ebekpo who outlined the strategic framework of the State towards Cocoa development for 7 years. He called for partnership and support from investors. He emphasized that the CRS Government will be establishing 12 hectares of cocoa plantation strategically position across six cocoa producing local government in the states. Notable stakeholders both indigenous and multinationals attended the festival; Sunbeth Global, Ofi, Afex, Johnvents, BUHLER, Harvesfield, IFC, CRIN. FMAFS, SON, CHOICE AGRO, AGNIMBLE, Barry Callebaut, PULA, Rainforest Alliance, ROBUST LTD, CALCIMA, HELP FARMERS CAMEROON, Lutheran World Relief, USDA, PROPCOM±,EU, CFAN, CAN, Cocoa Roundtable Initiative, Cocoa farmers from the cocoa producing States in Nigeria and royal fathers from the cocoa producing local governments in Cross Rivers States. The chairman of the festival, Hon.Daniel Asukwo, former House of Representative Member, reiterated the need for Nigeria to work towards achieving sustainability to guarantee international market for our cocoa especially to scale through EUDR conditions.

Posted on: 2024-10-27

Join Us At 3rd National Cocoa Festival @ Calabar

Cocoa Farmers Association Of Nigeria ......great cocoa farmers [ Switch Design ] ADMIN [Profile] [Password] [Support] [Logout] Student Management Result Management Calendar & TimeTable Employment Downloads Payment Management Admission Management Facility Admin PTA Management Photo Gallery Alumni News Update Enquiry Message Board FAQs Slidder / Partner Pictures Store Management e-PARENTING Exam Management Staff Record Testimonial Management Attendance Management e-Learning Result priveledges Result privileges NEWS ADMIN UPLOAD NEWS News successfully Posted News picture (Optional) No file chosen Uploaded picture should not exceed 1MB of size News Title* News details * Characters remaining: 4000 Posted: 2024-09-22 , By: gokeadeolacfan@gmail.com 3rd National Cocoa Festival @ Calabar Is At Top Gear[DELETE] [EDIT] The celebration of the 3rd National Cocoa Festival at Calabar,Cross River State is in top gear. The festival is scheduled to take place on the 23rd and 24th of October,2024. Having celebrated the first and the second in Akure,Ondo State and Abuja respectively, the event is now moving to second highest cocoa producing State in Nigeria after Ondo State. The festival will parade notable stakeholders; farmers, buyers, processors, exporters, researchers, policy makers, inputs providers etc

Posted on: 2024-09-22

Join Us At 3rd National Cocoa Festival @ Calabar, Cross

Cocoa Farmers Association Of Nigeria ......great cocoa farmers [ Switch Design ] ADMIN [Profile] [Password] [Support] [Logout] Student Management Result Management Calendar & TimeTable Employment Downloads Payment Management Admission Management Facility Admin PTA Management Photo Gallery Alumni News Update Enquiry Message Board FAQs Slidder / Partner Pictures Store Management e-PARENTING Exam Management Staff Record Testimonial Management Attendance Management e-Learning Result priveledges Result privileges NEWS ADMIN UPLOAD NEWS News successfully Posted News picture (Optional) No file chosen Uploaded picture should not exceed 1MB of size News Title* News details * Characters remaining: 4000 Posted: 2024-09-22 , By: gokeadeolacfan@gmail.com 3rd National Cocoa Festival @ Calabar Is At Top Gear[DELETE] [EDIT] The celebration of the 3rd National Cocoa Festival at Calabar,Cross River State is in top gear. The festival is scheduled to take place on the 23rd and 24th of October,2024. Having celebrated the first and the second in Akure,Ondo State and Abuja respectively, the event is now moving to second highest cocoa producing State in Nigeria after Ondo State. The festival will parade notable stakeholders; farmers, buyers, processors, exporters, researchers, policy makers, inputs providers etc

Posted on: 2024-09-22

Join Us At 3rd National Cocoa Festival @ Calabar, Cross

Cocoa Farmers Association Of Nigeria ......great cocoa farmers [ Switch Design ] ADMIN [Profile] [Password] [Support] [Logout] Student Management Result Management Calendar & TimeTable Employment Downloads Payment Management Admission Management Facility Admin PTA Management Photo Gallery Alumni News Update Enquiry Message Board FAQs Slidder / Partner Pictures Store Management e-PARENTING Exam Management Staff Record Testimonial Management Attendance Management e-Learning Result priveledges Result privileges NEWS ADMIN UPLOAD NEWS News successfully Posted News picture (Optional) No file chosen Uploaded picture should not exceed 1MB of size News Title* News details * Characters remaining: 4000 Posted: 2024-09-22 , By: gokeadeolacfan@gmail.com 3rd National Cocoa Festival @ Calabar Is At Top Gear[DELETE] [EDIT] The celebration of the 3rd National Cocoa Festival at Calabar,Cross River State is in top gear. The festival is scheduled to take place on the 23rd and 24th of October,2024. Having celebrated the first and the second in Akure,Ondo State and Abuja respectively, the event is now moving to second highest cocoa producing State in Nigeria after Ondo State. The festival will parade notable stakeholders; farmers, buyers, processors, exporters, researchers, policy makers, inputs providers etc

Posted on: 2024-09-22

3rd National Cocoa Festival @ Calabar Is At Top Gear

The celebration of the 3rd National Cocoa Festival at Calabar,Cross River State is in top gear. The festival is scheduled to take place on the 23rd and 24th of October,2024. Having celebrated the first and the second in Akure,Ondo State and Abuja respectively, the event is now moving to second highest cocoa producing State in Nigeria after Ondo State. The festival will parade notable stakeholders; farmers, buyers, processors, exporters, researchers, policy makers, inputs providers etc Notable global cocoa players and multi national organizations like ICCO, World Cocoa Foundation are expected to attend. This year themes focus on the EUDR compliance and youth entrepreneurship development as pivotal to sustainability.

Posted on: 2024-09-22

NCMC COMMUNIQUE ON EUDR RESPONSE

NIGERIA PREPAREDNESS FOR COMPLIANCE WITH EUROPEAN UNION DEFEROSTATION REGULATION (EUDR); A COMMUNIQUE BY THE NATIONAL COCOA MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE (NCMC) 1. As part of its pioneering efforts to put in place a National framework for EUDR preparedness and compliance, the National Cocoa Management Committee (NCMC) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) on 19th April, 2024 conducted a hybrid technical roundtable discussion that brought together over 100 cocoa stakeholders and value chain actors drawn from the public, private and the development community. 2. The roundtable, which is an integral part of NCMC and IFC partnership to unlocking the potentials in Nigerian Cocoa Ecosystem recommended the following for serious and urgent attention for compliance with the EUDR due diligence pillars on traceability, deforestation free and legality of products. • The urgency of Nigeria’s EUDR Preparedness assessment check is of priority and is highly recommended as soon as possible. In this regard, the EU representative gave a commitment to support Nigeria for an EUDR Preparedness’ Assessment check as done for Cote D’Ivoire, Ghana and Cameroon if Nigeria lobbies for it. Accordingly, it was roundly endorsed that the Federal Government of Nigeria needs to engage urgently in this regard with the EU. • For the traceability compliance pillar, there is also the urgent need to put in place a Central National Cocoa database that will comprise amongst other indices, the registration of all farms, farmers, processors, exporters, intermediation services providers and buying agents and the relevant MDAs across the 22 cocoa producing States. There is no National Database of the current state of play for Traceability/Certification, Forest maps, Legality/Due diligence. • The whole essence of the EUDR will be predicated on an updated National Forest Map for the cocoa producing states in particular to indicate deforestation- free cocoa and cocoa products. Nigeria needs updated forest map with geo-location of tree crops and other land matters for Traceability. Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria (FRIN) has capabilities for Forests, Tree Cover map, Forest Cover, Forest Loss and Tree Loss for Nigeria. The Institute is however hampered by lack of adequate funding even for validating existing Forest data, forest and crop maps. • Information came out that there is on ground Traceability and Certification to a certain extent but that the data are with the export and processing companies for their own supply chain needs and certification protocols. Forest Alliance informed the meeting that there is 60% mapping of all Cocoa small scale holders in all Cocoa producing areas outside protected forests. Barry Callebaut, claim they map, train and capacitate all their farmers and are thus good on sustainability. It was thus recommended that the Private sector Operators with Traceability/Certification, Deforestation-Free and Legality Compliance records be encouraged to come together to pool such records for Nigeria. NCMC is to facilitate this. • It was identified that Public Officers need urgent capacity building on a harmonized cocoa-specific protocol particularly for Officers at Forestry Research Institute (FRIN), FMAFS, Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN), the various Produce Inspection Officers at Federal Produce Inspection Service (FPIS), State Produce Inspection Service (SPIS), Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) and others. This will be to capacitate them to render support services to the various Stakeholders and reduce bottlenecks that hinder investments. In this regard, it was also recommended that Inter Ministry and Inter Agency cooperation should be improved for information sharing and other matters. • There is also a need for Regulatory reforms and an improved Legislative framework for Cocoa and Land matters. The need for a new or a review of Legislative framework for land matters was recommended as there were challenges with the current Land use Act that vests all lands in the hands of the State Governments which includes Forests issues. As a fallout to the roundtable, The European Union (EU) notified the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food security (FMAFS), on the new rules regarding products that are drivers of climate change and biodiversity loss. EU being one of Nigeria’s major trading partners also informed Nigeria that non-compliance to EUDR regulation could impact negatively on EU-Nigerian trade. The FMAFS responded to the letter from EU by inviting them to conduct EUDR preparedness assessment check like what was done for Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire and Cameroon. Extension for EUDR compliance deadline and also carbon credit consideration was also requested. 3. The National Cocoa Management Committee (NCMC) was the outcome of interactive meeting between the Nigerian delegation and Ghana Cocoa Board held in Accra, Ghana on 19th May 2022. The Honorable Minister of Agriculture approved the establishment of the National Cocoa Management Committee (NCMC), a national coordinating body expected to guarantee quality, traceability, transparency, and sustainability in Cocoa Value Chain on 2nd August 2022 for the purpose of developing a framework for the regulation and monitoring of Cocoa sector’s activities. At their inaugural meeting the NCMC came up with draft Bill for the establishment of the National Cocoa Board. The board when fully functional will operate in the following ways: • To develop a framework for the regulation and monitoring of the activities of the Cocoa sector to make the industry more transparent; to develop a strategic plan towards the establishment of a Nigerian Cocoa Board. • The NCMC, as an important regulatory body in the Nigerian Cocoa sector shall upscale their activities to all cocoa producing states. • The NCMC shall organize and conduct a national conference for Commissioners of Agriculture from 36 states and FCT to sensitize them on the importance of cocoa and efforts of the Federal Government towards increased production. • The NCMC shall develop Local, State and Federal Government strategic implementation plan of the National Cocoa Management Committee; and • The NCMC shall establish data bank for all Multinational Companies and Exporters of Cocoa Beans from Nigerian Ports. The National Cocoa Management Committee (NCMC) held its first meeting in Abuja on 3rd November 2022 and two other meetings in Abuja and Akure, Ondo State respectively, the meeting discussed issues on how to develop a framework for the coordination, regulations, and monitoring of Cocoa activities in the Country and EU Child Labour/EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) for implementation and compliance. Major achievements and efforts to date include: - • The NCMC has been able to bring together relevant stakeholders (World Cocoa Foundation, International Financial Corporation- World Bank Group, International Cocoa Organization, European Union etc.) in the Country and world at large towards chatting a new direction for the Nigerian cocoa sector. • The NCMC has held four (4) meetings since inception, creating awareness among the stakeholders on the EUDR due diligence protocol. • The NCMC has enabled a proper coordination within the Cocoa industry which was lacking due to non-regulation of the Cocoa sector in Nigeria, unlike Ghana with full regulation while Cote d’Ivoire has partial regulation. • The NCMC has enabled major players in the Cocoa sector to have a forum through which ideas are discussed for the growth of the sector. • NCMC during its courtesy visit to Honourable Minister of Agriculture (HMA) recently successfully secured the buy-in of the HMA to support its activities. • NCMC and Lutheran World Relief (LWR) are collaborating on several areas through her Traceability and Resilience in Agriculture (TRACE) project in Nigeria to ensure Traceability/Certification, Forest maps, Legality/Due diligence. 4. At the 4th meeting of the NCMC, held on the 6th of June 2024 at Exclusive serene hotel, Abuja, the NCMC resolved to pursue various funding options available to the committee; meeting the EUDR target on deforestation, establishment of a National traceability system in Nigeria; strengthening of NCMC to metamorphose into National Cocoa Board as obtained in Ghana Cote d’Ivoire and Cameroon and partial regulation of the Cocoa Industry in Nigeria to guarantee quality, transparency, traceability, and sustainability. At this meeting, the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) also engaged the NCMC on possible areas of collaboration and the need for partnership options aimed at Sustainable cocoa ecosystems especially through the replication of the Cocoa Forest Initiatives, an initiative of the Foundation currently implemented in, Cameroon, Cote d’ Ivoire and Ghana. The NCMC also resolved to reach out and bring on-board all relevant government agencies that are already working on EUDR compliance in order to have a unified national response to comply with the regulation.

Posted on: 2024-06-15

Nigeria Races To Comply With EU’s Regulation For Cocoa

The National Cocoa Management Committee convened critical stakeholders in cocoa sub-sector in Abuja to strategize how to boost Nigeria’s cocoa production, and most importantly address the gaps to ensure the country complies with EU standards. The Committee serves as the regulatory body for all matters that concerns the cocoa sector. It was inaugurated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and comprises of members that cut across all the sectors in the cocoa value chain. Patrick Adebola, Executive Director of the Committee, informed that govenrnent and all stakeholders are putting heads together on the EUDR, noting that if Nigeria does not comply with the standards, the country may no longer be able to export cocoa beans and products to Europe, which is the biggest market for the country. He expressed concerns that Nigeria exports about 70% of cocoa beans and failure to meet standards set will significantly impact the value chain. “The key issue that we are discussing in this meeting is the issue of the EUDR regulation on our cocoa that will come into force in December this year. If we are found not to be compliant, it means our cocoa beans may not be accepted to be sold in European markets. That is the reason why we are putting our heads together to see how we can start to discuss compliance to EUDR”, Adebola told journalists. He also informed that the World Cocoa Foundation is also providing support to enable Nigeria comply with the standards. The executive director, however decried that the EUDR is rather unfair and stringent, stressing that the EU did not consult widely with exporting countries before drafting such regulation. In addition to prohibiting cocoa harvested from deforested areas, Adebola said the regulation also prohibits cocoa planted and harvested through child labour, big said their definition of child labour may not apply to Nigerian context. Related News Kidnappers abducts company MD, three Lebanese brothers in Lagos Why \'unidentified\' aircraft hovered over presidential villa - NAMA House of Representatives clarifies position on bill proposing return to regional government “One of the contentious issue in this regulation is that they don’t want our they don’t want cocoa beans that are being harvested from deforested area because deforestation leads to environmental degradation, even though we are arguing with them that when you cut down a tree and plant cocoa tree, that is not a deforestation. We were not given an opportunity to discuss before the EU regulation. “We feel these regulation are very stringent and Nigeria will need a lot of help in order for us to to comply with this stringent regulation. We see it as being unfair, and we felt that countries that are involved were not really fully engaged before this EUDR was rolled out”, he said. “Our own situation is peculiar, and what they see as child labour might not necessarily be a child labor in our own Nigerian context. So all those issues needs to still be discussed”, he added. The executive director also wants the EU government to extend the time to ensure proper preparation by exporting countries. According to him, only about 50% of the exporting countries will be able to comply with this stringent regulation before the deadline of December 2024. “We are voicing out to make sure that the EU either give us a little bit more time to prepare for the compliance or to look at regulation all over to see whether there is a way to relax that regulation and make it less stringent “he further said. Mufutau Abolarinwa, the National President of Cocoa Association of Nigeria, said the meeting also sought to explore ways to increase cocoa production, in addition to meeting set standards for export. He decried that Nigeira still produces below 300,000 metric tons even though the country has up to 16 cocoa producing states, while prices of cocoa continue to rise globally. The president urged government to provide more incentives.

Posted on: 2024-06-15

NCMC Met With Senator Abubarkar Kyari

Nigeria seeks ways to boost domestic production of cocoa beans after the product and it value chain generated about N356.16 billion in 2023. That figure, according to the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, is the “highest agricultural contributor to the gross domestic product (GDP).”

Posted on: 2024-06-15