COCOA farmers in Nigeria have lamented the unregulated cocoa economy in the country, stating that it is depriving the Nigeria Smallholder cocoa farmers from not joining Ivory Coast and Ghana in the collection of $400 per tonne known as Living Income Deferential (LID) paid to cocoa farmers aside the cocoa floor price in the cocoa producing countries by the International Cocoa Buyers.
National President of the Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria (CFAN), Adeola Adegoke, said because of the Nigerian unregulated cocoa economy, there is no measure put in place to be able to collect this $400 aside the floor price that we sell our beans
“Why the farmers are bringing the issue out is because of the existing structure of supporting cocoa farmers with $400 per tonne aside the cocoa floor price. It is an existing structure to support smallholder farmers in Ghana, in Ivory Coast and the countries that are leading in world cocoa production.
“Because of our unregulated cocoa economy in Nigeria there is no measure put in place to be able to collect this $400 aside the floor price that we sell our beans. This $400 is an addition that is meant to support the livelihood of the cocoa farmers in all cocoa producing nations.
“In Ghana and Ivory Coast today, they are collecting it. If today Nigeria is been denied $400 per tonne, that is multiply by 265,000 metric tonnes that is running into about N55bilion
“This is to show you that the farmers are been shut-changed and because of this our unregulated cocoa economy in Nigeria, that is why we are saying for us to move forward to be at par with our counterpart in Ghana and Ivory Coast we have to collect that money.
“We can’t allow about N55billion annually to waste away. This is enough to turnaround the fortunes of smallholders farmers in Nigeria. This is enough to turnaround the economy of the cocoa communities and to move the economy of the nation forward,” he said.
YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
We Have Not Had Water Supply In Months ― Abeokuta Residents
In spite of the huge investment in the water sector by the government and international organisations, water scarcity has grown to become a perennial nightmare for residents of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. This report x-rays the lives and experiences of residents in getting clean, potable and affordable water amidst the surge of COVID-19 cases in the state…
Selfies, video calls and Chinese documentaries: The things you’ll meet onboard Lagos-Ibadan train
The Lagos-Ibadan railway was inaugurated recently for a full paid operation by the Nigerian Railway Corporation after about a year of free test-run. Our reporter joined the train to and fro Lagos from Ibadan and tells his experience in this report…
[ICYMI] Lekki Shootings: Why We Lied About Our Presence — General Taiwo
The Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry probing the killings at Lekki Toll Gate, on Saturday resumed viewing of the 24hrs footage of the October 20, 2020 shooting of #EndSARS protesters by personnel of the Nigerian Army…
ICYMI: How We Carried Out The 1993 Nigerian Airways Hijack —Ogunderu
On Monday, October 25, 1993, in the heat of June 12 annulment agitations, four Nigerian youngsters, Richard Ajibola Ogunderu, Kabir Adenuga, Benneth Oluwadaisi and Kenny Razak-Lawal, did the unthinkable! They hijacked an Abuja-bound aircraft, the Nigerian Airways airbus A310, and diverted it to Niger Republic. How did they so it? Excerpts…
Sahabi Danladi Mahuta, a community mobiliser and APC chieftain. Mahuta spoke to select journalists at the sidelines of an Islamic conference in Abuja recently. Excerpts…
and then