CBN Targets $200bn Non-Oil Export Revenue …As Nigeria Loses N60bn Yearly To Lack Of LID

Determined to frontally address inadequate foreign exchange in the economy, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced an initiative named, RT200 Programme, to stimulate non-oil exports, with a $200billion FX income target in the next three to five years.
The CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, announced the initiative at the end of the Bankers’ Committee meeting, in Abuja, yesterday.
Under the programme, the CBN, working with the Money Deposit Banks, is to fund the construction of dedicated non-oil export terminals, to eliminate the delays currently experienced by exporters.
It would also provide loans to companies for value-addition and production of finished goods for export at 5percent for a 10-year period, with two years of moratorium.
Other key features of the programme, according to the CBN boss, included Non-Oil Commodities Expansion Facility; Non-Oil FX Rebate Scheme; and Biannual Non-Oil Export Summit.
Rather than exporting raw cocoa, with minimal export proceeds, Emefiele said that his team would fund companies to produce chocolate in-country.
He said that cashew processing, currently at a mere 5per cent of the nation’s production, as well as, sesame seeds processing would be prioritised.
Meanwhile, the Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria (CFAN), yesterday, said Nigeria loses N60billion annually to the non-existence of Living Income Differential (LID) for producers of the cash crop in the country.
According to the organisation, Nigeria has the potential to reclaim its position as the second largest producer of cocoa in the world and solve its foreign exchange woes through a mechanism that encourages help producers earn a living wage.
CFAN’s President, Mr. Adeola Adegoke, stated these during a workshop jointly organised in Abuja by the University of Ibadan and the Agricultural Policy Research in Africa (APRA) with the theme: ‘Cocoa Commercialisation in Nigeria: Issues, Prospects and Policy Requirements’.
He lamented that because of the global oversupply of cocoa many producers in the country receive a woefully low share of cocoa revenues; hence, live in extreme poverty.
Adegoke noted that the cocoa sectors in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire establish fixed ‘floor’ price of cocoa annually and applies a ‘differential’ of US$400/tonne above the floor price to increase income for cocoa producers to help them achieve a living income.
He said, “In the 1960s, we were the number two highest producers of cocoa in the world. We were producing 590,000 metric tonnes and with this potential, the Western Regional Government was being run with this money.
“As of today, Ivory Coast is producing about 2.5million metric tonnes of cocoa. Ghana is producing about 800,000 – 1million tonnes of cocoa; but when you look at what Nigeria is producing side-by-side with our land resources and number of cocoa farmers that we have, it is clear, we can surpass what these two countries are producing combined. That is why, as smallholder farmers, we have been able to analyse the challenges responsible for our low productivity.
“In Ivory Coast, they produce nothing less than 800-1000kg of cocoa per hectare, but in Nigeria, it is an average of 350-400kg per hectare. This is unacceptable, because it made Nigerian cocoa farmers poorer.
“In Ghana today, each farmer collects $400 on each tonne of cocoa after the fall price. Same in Ivory Coast, and that’s why we believe that Nigeria must begin to collect Living Income Differentia (LID). The refusal to collect it makes us lose N60billion annually,” he said.
Adegoke stressed the need for the government and stakeholders to strengthen mechanisms that would increase Nigeria’s guaranteed cocoa farm gate price to encourage production.
“The indices today, especially in the last two months, show that cocoa is next to oil in terms of foreign exchange revenue in Nigeria. It means that the foreign exchange deficit we are having could be solved through the cocoa economy,” he stressed.
The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture Colleges, Universities and Institutions, Hon. Munir Agundi, lamented the non-implementation of the country’s cocoa policies.
“We are not going to leave policies at the ministry level anymore without being backed by the law,” he stated.
The Country Lead and Principal Investigator of APRA (Nigeria), Dr. Adeola Olajide, called for the formulation of Nigeria’s cocoa utilisation and consumption policy, adding that we must consume our own cocoa.