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THISDAY • TUESDAY. SEPTEMBER 25. 2012
AG RI C
BUSINESSWORLD
Restoring the Lost Glory of Cocoa Crusoe Osacie examIDes Ni . 's fall from the woill's second hi~~~ucer and ~rter of rocoa and ~~'."crop's massiye potentials and export eanung capaoty S ithas~withvariousagrioJlturnl
A
ro mmodihps In the country. cocoa from Nigena once ruled the global market. Not anymo re. In the 19liO!>. Nigeria was the world's Largest prodlJl.El" of groundnuts with i mean output of 712..liOO IOnnI.'S a year. and the second largest producer of rncoa with
about 2l0,(U) lonnes annuaUy. Chana was the only cuunlIy iI~ of Nigeria in global cocoa producbon. Oil palm in the Midwest ard f..astI3n Nigeria supplied hallli'r world's export d palm kernel (407.D) 1onne5i);uv;I '}() per CI'I1II d gIcbaI p1Im ciI export Wllh lfil,OO) torules per annum GIfDOIy. These a!.-ro<ommodities draw the growth 01 the nabon's economy through its Northern. Eastem and 'M!sIem regKlnS. ThIs once enlerprising agricultural seder SDal gave way and in its place was II weak sedo.lTW\iiged by aging farmer:.;,. with neither private capo)city nor support hom the stale. to sustain what was (I'd' the mvy d the AIriI::an awirull and the sustaJner 01 the Nigerian ~ Thf
pervading anefficiencies have pushOO N"~ In a distant IUurth position in the warkI in tenns of oxua production.
Reversing the Slide The ~~klbyOr.Amwu-mi
Adesina, now appears 10 be taking brave steps towards the Il!Vivai of the ailIng ~. Govenunent is supporting CIXIliI filJll85 in the country to boost production and ens\Ife that Nigenan roroa has the best J1a,vOUf and meets the highesl safety standard for consumption. ~ III Sa&u Na'ma1hTtlatta,. the n::w C'OCOiI production dnve is part of an Agrindtural Tr.niormaam Age-rla (ATA~ wnm is dlsigm:I by the Nigerian autrorities 10 once again ma1z the country self-sufficient in rood production and dlver.;dy an cmnomy that relies heavily on lllldualmg crude oil oqxrt \Vith recent statistic> from the Food and
AgricuItwai Orpnisation (FAD) indicating thai Cote d'lvoire cum!f\Uy leads tte world with a 2010 output of 1,242,.'D1 metric lI:lnnes. or 29.3 per rent of world output; CoUowed by Indonesia with a production of1l10, IOO mroir tannes or 19.1 per <Ent of wodd's outpul Q\ana is the third largest pnxfuret'" c:J COOOiI In the world at 632,CIr7 metric IonrIes. while Nigeria's output was 421)0) metric Ia1ne5 In 2010, putting it in the 4th position. ahead of Cameroon, which producOO '1f14jJT7 metric tOf1J1eS m same the year. Nigeria lS resoIulf! m its quest 10 change the pk.1ure d WO'kf's axnl pro;:futtDl by ~ the top JXl5Ition. And to show thai il me.ans business. the!- r-edera1 Ministry or Agriculture hils set the goal of raising output 10 umJXXI metric tonnes of rocua beans by 2018The goo.remment h.-Js ~ eight new high yiekhng, fast maturing COOOiI hybrids \0 faoners for planting to lnlnsI"onn the cocoa sub-scctor:. ~
hybrid varieties ylekI five times IllOle than
the eJti5Ung varietieS and mature in two yeatS instead of 4-5 years of the old varieties. So f;u:, 16 miUKll1 hybrid pods or 114 million COOOiI seeds. whlch are resistant 10 bbd:: pod disease and have high bean quality and unmalchab1e flavour,. are being distributed to ial'lNn, Ene c:J charge. across the 15 axoa growing states for planting 10 establish new
am
plantations engage in phased rehabilitation of old plots eM Iow-yiclding ancient trees. MAR5~(redtheliBgcsl:~ ~ in the woid. is trruning fouT6tlfJ ~ the mHstry trI axna remti6tation Iirl1niquIs in lnI:bJesia.. The rehabilitation effOrt involves 2OO,(XXI }ujarer; ol CDCOiI piantalitns in the Oda Cocoa E:it311.' in Airun-, Ondo Stale and Ikcm Cocoo Estate. in CRlI55 Rivei' State.. In additim!. 10 training some personnel in lndcn9a. NigI;na and the Vobid Gxm filundao. lion's (WCF) CocoiI Uvdihood Project Team have agreed \0 lrain IOO,iXXl cocoa farmers in the next three years in WQdem tedlnkJues to unprove thm productivity. ~produc:tivily ab::IlTIIH'1i ~ the meon5 ol m.~ of ilIUm <DlllIil farmers and axJJIil inrome by SGJ ywrty in :BIJlXl fut:m households in mooa producing scales over the next four years." the Permanent Secretary in the federa1 Ministry 0{ Agriculture and Run! ee..,eJopment.. DL Ezekiel Dyemomi, said. With expedai incroase In cocoa production on one hand, the ministry is working on the other hand toward the inrorporation of a pOnte secttJr-owned Cocoa Marketing and Trade Corporation (CMTC). This institution will guarantee minimum price fOf cocoa in an assured II1iII:h>t.. It will protl'd the farmer from. the vagaries eM the world cocoa m.-trIo:l't. To ~ a ll'IiabIe mout.et ... N"1gI'rian axm,. a Cocoa Quality Imp",,'1,!IIlel.i and Branding instrumenl wiD soon be reImged by the Ministry of Agrirulture. It is very important to get the quality of the nation's cocoo right. to save it rn.n beir@;at iN dig;mD: in the wmd market. To achieve that goal. some 2,.500 bales of h~ jule bags f'IlIOUgh COl' 46,B7S MT dried axx:e beans ",iN be provided to (J)(OiI fanners in 2012. The deciskr! of the federal govemrnenl 10 nnWwiIh~t..n:n's~
on banning pesticides with high Maximum Residue limits (MRLs) nmai:ns in force. This is in line with the minisby's poticy of ensuring that Nigman cocoa meets the highest. safety
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the i:rleraJ. govunment &sued
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""""ying
on N"1gCrian cocoa plantations.. ~ chemials are Fungwan Of·I, RidomiJ Gokt P'lus 66WP and Cl1amp DP. whlch are fwlgicides. and a pesticide.. Adam 25WG. !bey are pesticides that have been screened and regisIm!d by the Cocoa Rescruclt Institute of Nigeria (auN). They are also registered by the National Ab'Hll:Y b- Food and Drug Administration and Cmtrol (NAFDAC). The
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Union. They have not been delisted by any oq;anisation either" locally or intErnationally," Oyemomi said recently. The drive by the governrDelt to boa;t the private SfCIIr to II1C1!iISe rocoo production GIll gmernle a muumum of 390,coo new pbs in the N"1gerian ean:my thrwgh irneising the coma processmg CBpaOlles of factories, establishmg and strengthening eM small and mediUfTHiiCilJe enterprises to produce !'ast moving ca-.sumer prodl.k1S fran cocoo,. and by improving cocoa marketing in the stales presently producing (W with the potenlJaJ to produce roroa.
Targeting Number One Nigeria is now being tipped to become highest pnxfucers in the worid.. The ExecutiveDirector, Ccnservation Alliance (CA). Ghana. Yaw Osei-Owusu. bellevOO that in the next 10 years, NiE;eDa would be the largest produo:.""el" 01 axo.l in the worid, wilh the right inl:mtives
This once entErprising agricultoraI sedor soon !@veway and in its place was a weak sector ~dbyaging
fanners
in place. Backmg his declaration, he rota! thai CIf"oCe the initiatives of the current government are implemmted. the sky would be the limit of the ro\.lntfy in cocoa production. He noted the need for ffitUling and retraming 0{ furmers. provision 01 incentive to boost produd:im. support fn.In bottt,mva~ and pub&: getting the rfg.ht policies hom the
government. as weU .as the F~vision of land and encourage TTVJn! p:ople 10 go into (OCOiI
fanning. F;umers Endorse A ~Jhemiais
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F~_"~""~ in _ the mitialives at hJ feJ gOl-'enunen! , ... AgmdIurnI . Agm<b
lATA) especially in l cl effuctive agroc:hemkals inI:Iudi . GokI. P'lus cn:I Adam 25 wh has enhancEd the perfonni1ncl' of 1I The Cocoa FannelS Eli Cocoa G~ MBocal l\igena said the quality and effediveno rJ the lwo inputs has put Downy Mildew (P asmcprra vitirola), a potenlially devastatir g ctisea!;e eM 00C0iI ;md other" crops at bay. They saki sig:nificrn ouR lasses used to OCCUT in short periods I . if the disease is left tmtreated According to the farn\ers •.~y Mildew oospores gmninale all Wet dI/OO leaves where the soil SiI.Jriin: Iemper.lh i; g:real8"!han lCf'C. Primary infedic:ns oout when lhere is at least 10 mm of minfaIJ with temperature greater lhan 1O"C over a 24 hour period; the spores must be splashed up un. to the leaves towards the end ol the 24 hou r period. Fortunatcly for us this Randamil GlId aOO ActaJa deal with this and ~ i fIOOHl&1ni CIUOIlC..
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