The Federal Government has joined Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana to form the Cocoa Value Addition Alliance, an initiative aimed at boosting local cocoa processing, improving farmers’ earnings and retaining more value from the global chocolate industry within Africa.
This was disclosed by the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Senator John Owan Enoh, at the Cocoa Value Addition Summit held in Abuja on Tuesday.
Enoh announced that Nigeria would implement a Cocoa Value Addition Accord, bringing together the Federal Government, governors of cocoa-producing states, farmers’ associations, industry groups, research institutions and the Bank of Industry (BOI).
He said the country had joined Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana in signing the Abuja Declaration, which formally establishes the alliance.
According to him, the countries would now speak with one voice on critical issues affecting cocoa farmers, including the European Union’s Deforestation Regulation and the recognition of national traceability systems, to prevent farmers from being made to provide duplicate proof of compliance.
Enoh explained that the Accord would support investments in cocoa processing, establish a national traceability system, create financing windows for processors through the Bank of Industry, and ensure more value is retained in Africa through local processing and branding of cocoa products, rather than the continued export of raw beans.
Also speaking at the summit, the Chief Executive of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Dr Ransford Abbey, backed the initiative and called on Nigeria and Cameroon to strengthen the regional alliance.
He noted that Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire currently account for 60 per cent of global cocoa output, adding that the entry of Nigeria and Cameroon into the initiative would push the bloc’s combined share to 75 per cent of world production.
“The time to unite and command greater value is now,” Abbey said, urging both countries to join without delay.
He further pointed out that while Africa produces about 75 per cent of the world’s cocoa, the continent earns less than 10 per cent of the value generated by the global chocolate industry. He added that stronger cooperation among producer countries would boost bargaining power, expand value addition and improve returns for millions of cocoa farmers across the continent.
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