Why cocoa farmers are relocating from Edo

Cocoa is one of the major crops in Edo but the farmers said lack of forest for planting and other challenges are affecting production in the state.

One of the farmers, Gbemi Akiola, said cocoa is a money-spinning business but the venture is being hindered by lack of forests for planting.

He said many cocoa farmers are relocating from Edo to the South west states because there is no availability of forestlands for planting.

Akiola, the Secretary of the Edo State chapter, Cocoa Farmers Association, said there are many challenges facing cocoa farming in the state but “the mayor one is lack of forest for cocoa planting.

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“Also, there is lack of government assistance in terms of mechanisation for clearing and ploughing.

“We also face the challenge of seedlings, as there are new varieties across the world but they are out of the reach for cocoa farmers in Edo State.

“It is over two years now since we last got new varieties and now we have even newer varieties of cocoa which are yet out of our reach.”

Akiola also lamented that community leaders in the areas they are farming are also giving them problems, saying “They always demand things from us saying we are farming on their land.”

The secretary further identified herdsmen, loggers and fire outbreaks, as other challenges inhibiting cocoa farming in the state.

“In 2019, 2020 and 2022, many cocoa farmers suffered fire outbreaks in their farms leading to the loss of several hectares of cocoa farms.

“At times, the community youths do claim our cocoa on the excuse that they owned the land.”

Akiola noted that having access to the market to sell their produce has become challenging to them, as they can’t sell directly to companies or the White people.

“The companies that do come to buy from us were stopped by government officials who backed the middlemen buyers.

“About three years ago, there were companies that were coming to see how we were doing our farming. They taught us the fermentation process and others to help our yield and after harvest, they will come and buy directly from us but government officials came and stopped them.

“They said we didn’t have the right to sell directly to the companies, and international market and closed the programme. They then withdrew our licence to sell cocoa in the international market and up till date we are selling locally.”

He said as a result of that, the middlemen are the ones making profit while the cocoa farmers are forced to sell to whoever comes to buy at any rate, thereby denying them of making profit.

“In the international market, a kilo of cocoa is N16,000 but here in Edo it is N13,000,” he said.

Seedlings

Akiola lamented that cocoa farmers have no access to new varieties of cocoa which abound in other countries.

“We do get seedlings from the Cocoa Research Institute but that stopped about two years ago because the Edo State Government didn’t follow up.

“There are new varieties now in Brazil and other European countries but we don’t have them and even the ones we have, there is no land for planting because the current administration has not given us land,” he stated.

He said the land given to them by the administration of Adams Oshiomhole had been exhausted.

Akiola, however, noted that there are have seven local governments where  cocoa is produced in Edo State, saying cocoa can give big revenue to the state, more than palm oil.

“But the government is ignoring cocoa farmers and many farmers are relocating out of Edo State due to lack of land but we are waiting for the new government to see whether it will recognise us.

“I have about three hectares of land in Ife and I want to relocate there because all my cocoa is dying because in Edo the life span of cocoa can’t go beyond 18 to 20 years.

“It is only Udo and Okomu areas that you can get long-life cocoa but the government’ didn’t give us the forest to farm.”

He said cocoa farming is one of the best farming that can yield millions of naira within three to five years.

How new entrant can excel

Akiola said, for a newcomer in cocoa farming, he needs to get land and carry out soil texture tests to know whether the land is good for cocoa because most land in Edo is good for palm, plantain, pawpaw and pineapple.

“Once the land is good, you now decide on the variety of cocoa to plant and also ascertain if the land is prone to fire outbreak.”

After ascertaining these, the farmer then gets the manpower to clear and plant cocoa and in the next four to five years the farmer will become a millionaire.

He said cocoa farmers have a boom in Edo if the government can give them access to forests in Udo and Okomu.

He urged the youth to invest in cocoa farming because it is more profitable.

He also appealed to the government to allow them to have access to the international market to sell their cocoa directly to the buyers.

Akiola, however, lamented the high cost of chemicals and herbicides, saying, they are buying chemicals at between N28,000 and N29000, for those in cooperatives that buy directly from the company.

“But if you buy from the retailers, it is between N34,000 and N36,000.

“Our cocoa is the best. I can tell you that 75 per cent of cocoa which is called Ondo cocoa is from Edo State. They are saying Ondo cocoa is the best but 75 per cent of the cocoa leave Edo to Ondo,” he said.

He called on government to come to the aid of cocoa farmers by assisting them to access loans and grants as well as forests for planting.