The Executive Director, Conservative Alliance, (CA) Ghana, Yaw Osei-Owusu has predicted that in the next 10 years, Nigeria will be the largest producer of Cocoa in the world, with the right incentives in place.

Osei-Owusu who was speaking in Abuja at a one-day workshop on “greening the cocoa industry” organised by Global Environmental Facility and Rainforest Alliance, declared that once the right motion was set and fully put in place, the sky would be the stepping stone of the country in cocoa production.

He gave the incentives as training of farmers, support from both private and public, getting the right policies from government as well as the provision of land and also encouraging people to go into cocoa farming.

He explained that currently, Nigeria was the 7th largest producer of cocoa in the world adding that the advantage Nigeria had over Ghana was that while Ghana was producing from six regions, Nigeria was producing from about fourteen states with much more improvement expected in the nearest future.

He therefore enjoined African leaders to show more commitment in the production of cocoa by protecting the forest as the crop accounts for over 70 per cent of the region’s income.

In her remarks, the Minister of Environment, Mrs. Hadiza Ibrahim Mailafa said for the great increment for cocoa production to occur in Nigeria, the forest must be adequately protected against any form of pollution.

Represented by the Director, JEF Operations Focal Point, Mr. Olabisi Jaji said only about 35% per cent of cocoa production in West Africa occurs under good agro-forestry systems.

According to him, “a recent base-line study showed that our region had experienced significant forest loss through the extractive practices of timber and expansion of the cocoa industry by promotion of zero cocoa production system.

These have gradually led to the fragmentation of our forest landscape, loss of wildlife corridors and forest connectivity and degradation of biodiversity and the ecosystem goods and services.

“A prominent consequence of deforestation is on the cocoa industry itself, a significant loss of major soil nutrients and this has been a leading cause of the decline in our cocoa yield”.

She noted that she has observed a trend toward less shade cocoa landscapes that undercut the environmental sustainability of production and biodiversity conservation.

“Several reports have pointed out that in West Africa, only about 35 per cent of cocoa production occurs under good agro-forestry system”, and enjoined the cocoa farmers to ensure that within five years the mainstream market should follow the leading brands example and to accept the challenge to commit to sustainability and integration of biodiversity conservation in the cocoa and chocolate value chains.

“Our vision for cocoa is an industry that empowers the cocoa farmers to thrive alongside suppliers and manufacturers in a way that doesn’t” if happen today. We must all stand ready to work with anybody who shares that goal and look forward to a day when one will say Nigeria is a centre of excellence rings as true for the farmers of the future as it has for generations past”, he stated.