The Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria has called on the Federal Government to adopt a strict regulatory model for the proposed National Cocoa Management Board, warning that government involvement in cocoa sales inhibits the sector.

In a phone interview with The PUNCH, President of CFAN, Adeola Adegoke, said the cocoa industry growth in Nigeria has slowed from structural gaps that can only be addressed by a focused regulatory board and not one bogged down with trading functions.

Adegoke said, “We want a board that will be for regulations, development, centralisation and protections but will not be involved in buying and selling. That is the kind of model that my leadership pushed for.”

He stressed that the sector has suffered from years of neglect, worsened by the scrapping of the original Nigerian Cocoa Marketing Board in 1986, which he described as “throwing the baby out with the bathwater”.

According to him, Nigeria once enjoyed a reputation as the second-highest producer of cocoa in the world. The country was also renowned for producing the finest cocoa due to the incentivisation from the Cocoa Board. However, cocoa farmers began to suffer as the board went downward because of corruption.

“We had a problem; the abolished cocoa board was doing a lot in terms of productivity, production incentivisation, input and processing, making Nigerian cocoa very distinct from West Africa,” he stated. “But the issue of price manipulations that subjected the livelihood of our farmers to make them go into penury was exactly that short-changing; the corruption destroyed the cocoa board.

“Rather than leaving the aspect of that marketing, the whole developmental initiative architecture was scrapped. That’s what I meant by throwing the baby out with the bathwater.”

Adegoke argued that since the 1986 abolishment, the industry has been operating on an “autopilot” system with little to no regulation, leaving farmers at the mercy of middlemen and market forces.

He explained, “There is no way to track the industry from one ministry. The price was manipulated, farmers were shortchanged, and their welfare was neglected.

“On productions, you are likely to go to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture. When it comes to the issue of trading, you are likely to go to the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment. When you need promotion, you are likely to go to the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, or for funding, you’re likely going to Nexim Bank. It is an arrangement without much coordination.”

To reposition the industry, Adegoke called for a board with clear mandates on research, enforcement, and sustainability, rather than commercial activities.

“We need a board that will tackle child labour, enforce pesticide regulations, and support our cocoa research institutes. These are things that must be deliberate,” he noted.

Adegoke also emphasised the need for a coordinated national cocoa agenda that would be driven by state and local governments.

“The farmlands are in the states, so the states are critical stakeholders. If we have a national agenda, it must stipulate how many hectares we are targeting, what varieties to plant, and expected yields,” he said.

He warned that allowing the NCMB to play in the commodity market would compromise its oversight functions and scare away investors.

“Who will enforce contracts? People are running away with other people’s money. “Who will protect investments?” he asked.

On the board’s projection to grow cocoa output from 280,000 to 500,000 metric tonnes, Adegoke said the target is achievable within two years if the right policies are in place.

“It’s the simplest thing to do. We have 22 states that can drive cocoa commercially. Even without expanding land, if we rehabilitate old farms and adopt good practices, we’ll hit 500,000 metric tonnes,” he said.

He added that aged trees in the South-West need grafting, not uprooting, and that such interventions require a well-funded research institute.

“The research institutes are underfunded, and that is reflected in our cocoa farms. If we don’t fund research, we are not serious about growing this industry,” he said.

He also urged the NCMB to work on infrastructure, youth incentives, land access, and ecology to make the sector more attractive and sustainable.

“Sometimes you can’t find schools or clinics in cocoa-producing communities. How do you attract youths? These are issues the board must tackle deliberately,” he said.

Adegoke insisted that the solution to Nigeria’s cocoa stagnation lies in a board which would adopt a strict governance model and avoid the mistakes of the old cocoa marketing board.

“It is until there is a right policy framework and political will that we can move forward,” he added.

Nigeria’s current cocoa processing data is 280,000 metric tonnes. The NCMB’s stated goal is to increase production from an average of 300,000 to 500,000 metric tonnes.

Vice President Kashim Shettima recently stated that the Federal Government was committed to improving cocoa processing. According to Shettima, “We don’t want to be producers of cocoa; we want to be processors of cocoa because a tonne of cocoa will fetch you $9,000 now, but processed cocoa will get you $30,000. If you turn them into chocolate bars, that might fetch you $50,000.”

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria’s top exports include superior-quality cocoa beans besides oil products. While on imports, the country imported cocoa powder from ECOWAS areas, indicating processing shortfalls.