Nigeria loses N60bn annually to living income differentials —CFAN
Nigeria loses N60bn annually to living income due to the non-collection of the Living Income d
Differential (LID), which is the money that is meant to support small holder farmers.
President of the Cocoa Farmers’ Association of Nigeria, (CFAN), Mr. Adeola Adegoke disclosed this on
Thursday in Abuja on the sidelines of a workshop organised by Agricultural Policy Research in Africa (APRA) and the University of Ibadan.
The workshop themed “Cocoa commercialisation in Nigeria: Issues, prospects and policy requirements”, was organised to review cocoa production policies and strengthen the production of cocoa in the country.
Adegoke said that the association was poised to lead the country to regain its lost glory in the comity of cocoa producing countries in the world.
He said, “In the 1960s, Nigeria was producing 590,000 metric tonnes of cocoa and was adjudged the second biggest producer in the world.
“We must begin to do away with child labour practices and on no account must children be allowed to work on the farms.
“When the oil boom came, cocoa was relegated and in the last two months, cocoa has shown it is the highest to oil in terms of foreign exchange.
“It means the foreign exchange deficit we are experiencing can only be solved economically because as of today, what cocoa is bringing to Nigeria is next to oil, when you look at the percentage, it shows the potentials.
“In the 1960s, we were the number two in the world cocoa production, we were producing 590,000 metric tonnes and with this potential, the whole regional government was being run by this money.
“In Ghana today, each farmer collects 400 dollars on each tonne of cocoa after the fall in price, and same in Ivory Coast.
“We believe that Nigeria must begin to collect Living Income Differential and refusal to collect it makes us lose N60 billion annually.”
Adegoke said that with their dominance as global cocoa producers, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire’s new Living Income Differential (LID) is a bold new move by both governments to make a fundamental change to the structure of global markets to try to ensure rural producers receive a living income.
Chairman, House Committee on Agriculture Colleges, Universities and Institutions of Agriculture, Munil Uba- Danabundi, said policies which have been reached on the production and sustainability of cocoa economy must be backed by legislation.
He added that the problem with remarkable policies has been the issue of implementation.
“Policies have been very good in this country but implementation has been something else and we get a lot of challenges in it,” he said.
According to Adegoke, Cocoa farming is one of the most sustainable investments that will give employment to teeming Nigerian youths.
“We are not going to leave policies at the ministry level anymore without being backed by law.
“There are about 22 states in the country that can farm cocoa and the potentials are enormous for the country,” he said.
Also speaking, Country Lead and Principal Investigator of APRA in Nigeria, Dr. Mrs Adeola Olajide, said the government needed to create a cocoa utilisation and consumption policy, adding that “we must consume our own cocoa.”
‘’Cocoa web development policy and money value chains in terms of beverages and cosmetics should be included.
She noted that the country needed processing zones, agricultural logistics and services for the cocoa sector.
“With the role that cocoa plays in income generation, it should be given topmost priority,” she added.
