The Federal Government has said that Nigeria loses about $2 billion annually in potential value from cocoa because the country’s processing capacity is largely underutilised.
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, stated this in Lagos at a two-day Africa Cocoa and Coffee Conference organised by the Cocoa and Coffee Farmers Alliance Association of Africa, COCEFAAA in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, FMAFS, and the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, CRIN.
Kyari, who was represented by the Deputy Director of Tree Crops at FMAFs, Mr. Ajayi Olutobaba, said Nigeria has an installed cocoa processing capacity of about 2,000 tonnes annually, but only about 30 percent is currently utilised.
According to him, the Federal Government was focused on moving Nigeria from simply producing cocoa to processing it into butter, liquor, powder and chocolate locally, adding that it would continue to position the country as a reliable cocoa exporter.
He said : “Roughly $2 billion in value addition slips away every year. It is not a shortage of resources; it is an opportunity waiting for the right investors.For cocoa and coffee, it comes down to one idea: value addition, not just volume. our goal is to add value, not export ban and we’ll make it easy for investors to build the factories to do it.
” We will back the renewal of aging farms and the growth of coffee with better seedlings, extension support, and enough for smallholder farmers. As we’ll make sure Nigerian produce keeps its place in the world best markets.And we must protect the harvest of tomorrow with better inputs, stronger pests and disease management, and climate-smart production.”
Kyari called on stakeholders in Africa to share research, align their standards and speak with one voice in the markets that buy their crops.
“Africa grows about 70% of the world’s cocoa, yet takes home only a tiny fraction of a chocolate industry worth over $130 billion. In coffee, our share of world production has fallen from 27.2% in the 1970s to about 12.5% today, and yet Ethiopia and Uganda each earned over $1.4 billion and $2 billion respectively from coffee over coffee export in 2025.
“If our neighbors can do it, the continent can do it, but none of us will get there alone.
“The EU deforestation regulation is no threat if we prepare early. We’ve been preparing for it.Traceability is simply how we protect our place at the table from farm to markets.”
Speaking on the theme, Building sustainable value chains for cocoa and coffee across West, Central and East Africa, acting Executive Director, Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria,CRIN, Dr. Abiodun Adedeji, said Nigeria’s cocoa productivity remained between 250kg and 300kg per hectare annually despite years of government distribution of improved seedlings.
He called for better prices for farmers, greater local processing, stronger research and improved data to build a sustainable value chain.
He said: “Between 2011 and 2015, we gave out 601,000 pods free to farmers. After that, we had 300,000 seedlings during COVID. Presently, Federal Government has mandated CRIN to produce and give out 1 million improved hybrid cocoa seedlings. But between that 2011 and now, the Nigerian productivity still lies between 250 and 300 kg per hectare per year.”
Adedeji urged African countries to strengthen collaboration on research and development, saying the continent needed better varieties and production systems to address emerging challenges.
According to him, 90 percent of cocoa proceeds and over 70 percent of coffee proceeds go to non-producing countries, while Africa shares less than 10 per cent of cocoa and less than 30 per cent of coffee.
Global President & Founder COCEFAAA, and Convener of the conference, Comrade Adeola Adegoke, said Africa produces 80 percent of the world’s cocoa but captures less than 10 per cent of its value.
Adegoke said the 2023-2024 season recorded the largest global deficit in 60 years, about 490,000 tons, pushing prices above $10,000 before the International Cocoa Organization, ICCO reported a surplus and prices fell by 75 per cent.
“When there is bumper harvest, price goes down. When there is shock, price goes to $12,000, Robusta $15,000. Why should we produce more and earn less?” he said.
Representing the Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Systems, Abisola Olusanya, Director, Agribusiness, Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture and Food Systems, Mrs. Aramide Gansallo, said Africa must move from exporting raw cocoa and coffee beans to processing, branding and consuming its own products.
Olusanya said the transformation must also make agriculture attractive to young people by presenting it as a business, technology-driven industry and career.
Managing Director, Sunbeth Global Concepts, Olasunkanmi Owoyemi, who was represented by the Manager, Corporate Affairs & Communication, Abdussamad Abdurrahman said, “We have been content to be the world’s farm while others become the world’s kitchen.”
He said the company is building a 70,000 metric ton processing facility at its industrial park, which will be ready by next year to boost local value addition, stressing that traceability has become critical for market access.