‘How to optimise cocoa’s productivity’

• New cocoa board must avoid pitfalls of the old

With the ongoing consideration of an Executive Bill on the establishment of National Cocoa Management Board (NCMB), experts at the weekend said the restoration of the  struggling cocoa industry could only be achieved if government backs it with serious investment and disciplined execution.

They said memories of the collapse of the former cocoa marketing board—marred by bureaucracy, corruption, delayed payments and arbitrary price-fixing—have continued to cast a long and troubling shadow.

Stakeholders cautioned the government to avoid recreating a cumbersome bureaucracy that could choke private-sector creativity and undermine farmer competitiveness.

Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission welcomed the Federal Government’s proposal, describing the NCMB as a “positive development” that aligns with its long-standing recommendations for restructuring the Southwest’s food system.

According to its Director-General, Dr. Seye Oyeleye, the absence of a structured market system has exposed farmers to severe risks.“Southwest farmers face severe challenges: price volatility, limited market access and exploitation by middlemen. Middlemen dominate value chains, creating significant price disparities. The historical success of commodity boards in organising agricultural markets and protecting farmer interests provides a strong foundation for their revival,” Oyeleye said.

He argued that the NCMB could restore institutional coordination, strengthen quality standards and facilitate better market integration, positioning Nigeria to regain its competitiveness in the premium cocoa market.

To ensure the institution does not repeat the failures of its predecessors, he outlined key governance and operational reforms. Oyeleye insisted that the board must be independent, with strong private sector and farmer representation, while being protected from political interference. He stressed the need for technical experts in cocoa agronomy, processing and international trade.

Oyeleye urged the NCMB to focus on establishing grading standards, setting transparent pricing mechanisms and linking cooperatives directly to international buyers.

A central plank of DAWN’s recommendations involves prioritising international certification and compliance. He emphasised the need to help farmers meet the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) requirements and obtain sustainability certifications such as Rainforest Alliance, Fair Trade and organic labels, which attract premium prices. He also called for the implementation of end-to-end digital traceability systems to verify product origin and ensure compliance with global buyers’ demands.

The commission warned that the proposed board must differ fundamentally from previous structures. “We must not create a monopoly purchasing system that breeds inefficiency but rather focus on regulation, standards and farmer support.The board should be a catalyst for transformation, not a bureaucratic burden. Success requires genuine commitment to transparency, farmer-centered design and learning from historical failures,” Oyeleye said.

Director- General , Oyo State Agribusiness Development Agency (OYSADA), Dr. Debo Akande, urged the Federal Government to decentralise the NCMB, keeping its mandate focused on regulation and research rather than trade. He warned that centralisation could repeat past mistakes, just as it reportedly contributed to the failure of Indonesia’s cocoa management board.

“More than often we don’t learn from history. And we repeat the same situation without even looking at the global context in the days that we are,” Akande noted. He argued that agriculture should not remain on the exclusive legislative list and suggested that cocoa management may be better handled at regional or state levels. “Which part of the country is producing cocoa? Can we rather look at a regional cocoa management body?” he asked, proposing that oversight fall under regional development commissions.

Akande criticised the  culture of overcentralisation. “We centralise everything too much. And that is one of the problems that have given our agricultural sector problem today. Let every region focus on their area of competitive and comparative advantage,” he said. He warned that a national board could be politicised in ways that disregard the geography of cocoa production. “You don’t want somebody sitting in Zamfara tomorrow to say this has become a political position… when nothing in terms of cocoa is being done in the place,” he argued.

To highlight the importance of production support, Akande pointed to Oyo State’s initiative to produce over one million cocoa trees within the next three to four years, in partnership with International Insttutute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN). He also disclosed that discussions with Belgian chocolate manufacturers were underway to deepen local sourcing and expand first-layer processing in Nigeria.

Chairman, Board of Trustees , Cocoa Association of Nigeria,(CAN) Dr. Victor Iyama,  warned that reintroducing a centralised board risks reviving the corruption that once crippled the industry. Drawing from decades of experience, he argued that Nigeria’s current liberalised cocoa market is more beneficial to farmers.

“Our farmers are earning the best prices ever. It’s free enterprise, free exit, free entry,” he said. Iyama recalled the disastrous consequences of the former commodity boards. “Why were the boards scrapped in the first instance? Because of serious corruption,” he stressed, noting that cocoa production plummeted from about 400,000 tonnes to 86,000 tonnes. He said farmers were so frustrated they began cutting down cocoa trees, a fate that befell coffee as well.

Iyama argued that the push for a new board is “misplaced advice,” insisting that government must strictly limit itself to regulation. “They must not be involved in buying and selling of agricultural commodities,” he said. Instead, he proposed an “agri-commodity management committee” covering all cash crops, noting that Nigeria has “about 18 agricultural commodities that can bring in good foreign exchange.”

He criticised past board administrators, alleging that they “were buying all sorts of cars, building all sorts of houses at the expense of the farmers.” He urged government to consult “those who know the nitty-gritty” of past failures to avoid repeating them.

National President, Cocoa Association of Nigeria (CAN), Mr. Mufutau Abolarinwa,  called for a public hearing on the NCMB bill. He revisited the history of the 1987 dissolution of the cocoa marketing board, describing corruption and farmer frustration as the main causes. “When the farmers started cutting down the cocoa trees… that’s one of the reasons why the military government then scrapped the entire marketing board,” he noted.

Abolarinwa clarified that the new proposal removes marketing entirely from the board’s functions, focusing instead on technical oversight and ensuring compliance with international standards. He insisted that the board must remain free of politicisation. “Government should remove politics out of it. They should call the people actually involved in this trade to ensure that they do the right thing,” he said.

He warned that government funding would create opportunities for corruption. “As long as government starts introducing giving money, giving allocation, the team will not get the result we are expecting to get,” he said, advocating that organisations represented on the board should finance their participation themselves. He also stressed the importance of funding CRIN, distributing hybrid seedlings and setting production targets for all cocoa-producing states, noting Nigeria’s potential to drastically increase production.

Agricultural expert, Prof. Tunji Arokoyo also questioned whether the sector  is better positioned now to manage a cocoa board effectively. “What killed it? Are we better now than then or even worse?” he asked, emphasising that the board must protect farmers’ interests, ensure stable pricing and guarantee timely access to quality inputs.

Prof. Damian Agom of Akwa Ibom State University said the NCMB could significantly improve the sector if it focuses on traceability, extension services, research, market information and improved access to these services for farmers. He cautioned, however, that “the management board should not be involved in product marketing and price fixing,” arguing that access to international price information is crucial.

Director of Research Outreach CRIN, Dr. Samuel Orisajo,  described the NCMB bill as a “highly commendable and necessary step” to restore Nigeria’s standing in the global cocoa market. He highlighted the vacuum created when the former cocoa board was scrapped in 1986 without transferring responsibilities to any successor institutions. This, he said, created “uncoordinated and untoward developments” that have damaged cocoa quality and caused production to “nose-dive.”

Orisajo recommended that the NCMB focus on regulation, coordination and strengthening cooperatives rather than fixing prices. He urged policies to promote domestic processing and value addition, arguing that Nigeria must reduce dependence on raw bean exports. He also called for expanding cocoa plantations, rehabilitating old farms and providing credit to help farmers meet international sustainability standards.

Assistant Director at CRIN, Dr. Kayode Oluyole , expressed strong support for the board, arguing that it would improve quality and stabilise pricing. He emphasised that lapses in fermentation, drying and quality control have significantly undermined Nigeria’s cocoa reputation. “Some farmers may not even ferment for a single day before drying,” he lamented, noting that such practices destroy flavour and reduce market value. He recalled that former marketing boards conducted rigorous quality checks, which no longer exist.

Oluyole argued that the NCMB would correct these deficiencies and address challenges related to input supply, pricing disparities and traceability. He pointed to Ghana’s cocoa board as an example of strong regulatory oversight. “My conclusion now is that it is advisable; I strongly recommend that the board is put in place,” he said.

The proposed National Cocoa Management Board has therefore ignited a fierce national debate, balancing renewed optimism for a coordinated cocoa revival against deep-seated fears of repeating historical mistakes. While supporters view the NCMB as the institutional backbone needed to revive Nigeria’s declining global share—now down to just six percent—critics warn that only transparency, decentralisation and strict limits on government intervention will prevent another era of waste, corruption and stagnation.

President Bola Tinubu’s administration approved the board in April 2025, with a mandate to coordinate production, improve quality, expand processing capacity, foster regional cooperation and support climate-smart agriculture. Stakeholders agree that Nigeria must urgently align with global regulations such as the EUDR, but they remain sharply divided on how the NCMB should be structured to deliver on these ambitions.

‘How to optimise cocoa’s productivity’ - The Nation Newspaper