Post by Trade facilitator on Mar 3, 2018 16:13:05 GMT 1
COCOA INDUSTRY IS A READY- MADE MARKET FOR EMPLOYMENT GENERATION
How will you describe the journey in the last 50 years of CRIN service to the nation?
Cocoa Research Institute in Nigeria (CRIN) since 1964 has been given a mandate to do research on the crops assigned to it and the first crop was cocoa. That was why it was called CRIN but with passage of time, other crops were added, the name was not changed despite other crops added. Though we now research into cashew, kola nut, coffee, yet the name is still maintained. The progress has been in two areas, knowledge and materials to farmers. How these are combined to create wealth is the success story of the institute.
If we are talking about knowledge, the institute has provided this through research along the passage of time, if we are talking about materials, CRIN has over the years build scientific methods and techniques to create new varieties, new grafting methods, so that farmers will use less resources to achieve the same goal. This has been going on over the years. We have been mastering how to do better in production, the market and event the area of export.
The institute mastered the problem along the line and blessed with a team of researchers backed up by technicians and administrative supports who are dedicated and ready to achieve the best despite the challenges on ground, we have extensions where all these experiences are passed to the farmers through trainings, discussions, and visits. The 36 states of the federation are our constituency. Cocoa covers 22 states, cashews covers 36 while kola nut covers another 14 states, tea and coffee cover three. Some states have several of these crops, some have only one, but there is no state that does not have any. The implication of this is that if we are able by means, men, money and materials, to cover all the states, it would be triple for some crops and even much more for some.
The question is how much resource has it to take care of the job given it. The job is a continuous exercise. If the institute have a high breed cocoa that can be fruitful in 16 months, should they then fold their alms? No, the research is non-stop. Non- stop research means non-stop funding, nonstop funding means continuous recruitment. Some of its researchers got retired, some went on sabbatical while some transferred their services to other part of the country, they need to be replaced.
CRIN has challenges, achievement and a future. Sometime ago, the former minister of agriculture directed that a 50 years future plan for the institute be prepared and the directive was carried out. What that translates to is that the next 50 years will produce 10 executive directors every five years, they can implement the future plan. In China, 19 emperors build the China wall, they agreed on one word and they were building it one after the other. Why can’t 10 executive directors do the same in CRIN according to the vision? The vision is simple, better cocoa, cashew, kola nut, coffee and tea across Nigeria.
There are partners, people who share same vision with the institute, they collaborate with them in the area of training and business, they bring money and they work together. With about 66 researchers, 24 of them having Phd degrees and others with master’s degree, researching in various works. As they go for training, short or long, they bring more knowledge and new innovation which will be verified by local investigations. It is this investigations that the institute want government and indeed its partners to fund, so that they can further extend the borders of knowledge. It is not easy for the institute to do it alone, no soldier buys his own bullet, he cannot buy his own bullet, CRIN cannot buy materials with its own money, somebody must sponsor them. It has been assigned to do research, and they are ready for it. The institute has supporters, it has researchers. It needs funding at higher level. Why? It has travelled a long road. And the higher it are goes the more equipment it needs, and the more refined training it require. CRIN do not need the elementary training because IT has passed the elementary stage, they are now in the tertiary and quaternary level, and the higher we go, the better for the country.
What is the future of Cocoa in the face of all the challenges facing cocoa farmers in the country?
Cocoa is grown by 50 countries in the world, Nigeria is number four, but number four with a shaking leg is not good enough; we must stabilize and concretise all that we are doing, so that no country will shake us. We want to be number one. This is possible because we have the size, the knowledge, the power and the oil money to do it. Because cocoa is important as a medical food, many people drink it daily, without knowing what they are drinking. Cocoa is very good and its health benefit is immeasurable, especially in the area of brain development, We as producers must consume part of it, until we begin to support local consumption of cocoa, the price will always be dictated by only the exporters of the commodity.
There is going to be a short fall of cocoa in the year 2020, because about 1 million tonnes, of cocoa beans would be needed by China that wants to consume chocolate. How will they get chocolate when they do not grow cocoa? It is only a tropical country like Nigeria that must step up its production to be able to meet up with such demand, but at what price? We must look at the price that is consumer – friendly, farmer – friendly and the value chain should be enriched.
When all are happy, then cocoa industry in the country would become a global issue. But as it is now, the cocoa farmers need adequate financial support to be able to grow, process and sell dried beans, but the rate at which the farmer is getting credit facility to run its operational work is discouraging. The current rate of about 24 per cent on loan taken is not encouraging. That cannot be agricultural loans for farmers, it is a loan for people who sell and buy goods in three months interval. Cocoa is not a three – month interval crop, it is a crop that could last a minimum of 25 to 50 years.
Therefore when you are planning loans for farmers in cocoa. You should not be thinking of three months. It is an annual circle of 12 months. And therefore when you are planning to give loans to farmers, you should be thinking of repaying period of 1 year. Single digit is sufficient to maintain a farm that is considered the median for Nigerians. The most frequent or common cocoa area in Nigeria is about two to five acres.
It will cost about N2.5 million to sustain one acre, if you multiply that by two acres you would be talking about N5 million. Why will they give a cocoa farmer N250,000 thinking that they have assisted him, it is just like a biscuit to an elephant. A loan that would be given to a farmer should be sufficient enough to take care of his farm.
How best do you think that cocoa farmer could be assisted, in order to increase their production?
There are three things involved in agriculture, knowledge, material and capital. Capital has to do with land and equipment, tools, seeds and money. Skill, techniques, the ability to use resources in the most efficient and effective ways, minimizing waste and losses so as to achieve the best. That kind of knowledge is not on ground; you have to be taught, you have to be trained, and you have to be educated by those who know the latest technology.
The last stage is government policy which should be consisted and be able to monitor chemicals and spray which farmers are using for maximum production.
If a farmer produces what is very poisonous, he will not eat it alone, the market will buy it and many people will die. So protecting farmers in whatever input they buy is protecting the nation. That is where the national agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) should team up to make sure that what the farmer gets are not fake products.
How do you think Nigeria can regain its lost glory in the production of cocoa?
The demand and supply of the equation is well known to all, if you advertise and you create awareness for people, they will get to know what cocoa is all about likewise cashew, Kola nut, tea and coffee.
CRIN produce green tea, which is good for people’s health, high immune system and steady body circulation. Bow that is research, the ability to bring these wide ranges to the audience through education and advertisement. That is not the job of CRIN, that is the job of the ministry of education, agriculture and information, all combined, using common fund.
To improve the consumption of cocoa, government should team up with the cocoa industries and institute and then, educate people on minus and plus on cocoa; coffee, cashew, tea and kolanut.
If the government can borrow a leaf from the company that is producing Ndomie and within a few years it has become a household food, if such effort is put in cocoa production, it will follow such growth and wide acceptability by consumers.
Scientifically, cocoa has been found as a stress remover, the more cocoa you drink the more composed and relaxed you are, good lives start with cocoa. The original intention of cocoa was for the priest to relax and drink it in order to see vision. Now when it came to this side of the world, we started exporting it but not drinking it. A country like Switzerland manufactures a lot of chocolates it doesn’t grow a single tree of cocoa.
How will you describe the journey in the last 50 years of CRIN service to the nation?
Cocoa Research Institute in Nigeria (CRIN) since 1964 has been given a mandate to do research on the crops assigned to it and the first crop was cocoa. That was why it was called CRIN but with passage of time, other crops were added, the name was not changed despite other crops added. Though we now research into cashew, kola nut, coffee, yet the name is still maintained. The progress has been in two areas, knowledge and materials to farmers. How these are combined to create wealth is the success story of the institute.
If we are talking about knowledge, the institute has provided this through research along the passage of time, if we are talking about materials, CRIN has over the years build scientific methods and techniques to create new varieties, new grafting methods, so that farmers will use less resources to achieve the same goal. This has been going on over the years. We have been mastering how to do better in production, the market and event the area of export.
The institute mastered the problem along the line and blessed with a team of researchers backed up by technicians and administrative supports who are dedicated and ready to achieve the best despite the challenges on ground, we have extensions where all these experiences are passed to the farmers through trainings, discussions, and visits. The 36 states of the federation are our constituency. Cocoa covers 22 states, cashews covers 36 while kola nut covers another 14 states, tea and coffee cover three. Some states have several of these crops, some have only one, but there is no state that does not have any. The implication of this is that if we are able by means, men, money and materials, to cover all the states, it would be triple for some crops and even much more for some.
The question is how much resource has it to take care of the job given it. The job is a continuous exercise. If the institute have a high breed cocoa that can be fruitful in 16 months, should they then fold their alms? No, the research is non-stop. Non- stop research means non-stop funding, nonstop funding means continuous recruitment. Some of its researchers got retired, some went on sabbatical while some transferred their services to other part of the country, they need to be replaced.
CRIN has challenges, achievement and a future. Sometime ago, the former minister of agriculture directed that a 50 years future plan for the institute be prepared and the directive was carried out. What that translates to is that the next 50 years will produce 10 executive directors every five years, they can implement the future plan. In China, 19 emperors build the China wall, they agreed on one word and they were building it one after the other. Why can’t 10 executive directors do the same in CRIN according to the vision? The vision is simple, better cocoa, cashew, kola nut, coffee and tea across Nigeria.
There are partners, people who share same vision with the institute, they collaborate with them in the area of training and business, they bring money and they work together. With about 66 researchers, 24 of them having Phd degrees and others with master’s degree, researching in various works. As they go for training, short or long, they bring more knowledge and new innovation which will be verified by local investigations. It is this investigations that the institute want government and indeed its partners to fund, so that they can further extend the borders of knowledge. It is not easy for the institute to do it alone, no soldier buys his own bullet, he cannot buy his own bullet, CRIN cannot buy materials with its own money, somebody must sponsor them. It has been assigned to do research, and they are ready for it. The institute has supporters, it has researchers. It needs funding at higher level. Why? It has travelled a long road. And the higher it are goes the more equipment it needs, and the more refined training it require. CRIN do not need the elementary training because IT has passed the elementary stage, they are now in the tertiary and quaternary level, and the higher we go, the better for the country.
What is the future of Cocoa in the face of all the challenges facing cocoa farmers in the country?
Cocoa is grown by 50 countries in the world, Nigeria is number four, but number four with a shaking leg is not good enough; we must stabilize and concretise all that we are doing, so that no country will shake us. We want to be number one. This is possible because we have the size, the knowledge, the power and the oil money to do it. Because cocoa is important as a medical food, many people drink it daily, without knowing what they are drinking. Cocoa is very good and its health benefit is immeasurable, especially in the area of brain development, We as producers must consume part of it, until we begin to support local consumption of cocoa, the price will always be dictated by only the exporters of the commodity.
There is going to be a short fall of cocoa in the year 2020, because about 1 million tonnes, of cocoa beans would be needed by China that wants to consume chocolate. How will they get chocolate when they do not grow cocoa? It is only a tropical country like Nigeria that must step up its production to be able to meet up with such demand, but at what price? We must look at the price that is consumer – friendly, farmer – friendly and the value chain should be enriched.
When all are happy, then cocoa industry in the country would become a global issue. But as it is now, the cocoa farmers need adequate financial support to be able to grow, process and sell dried beans, but the rate at which the farmer is getting credit facility to run its operational work is discouraging. The current rate of about 24 per cent on loan taken is not encouraging. That cannot be agricultural loans for farmers, it is a loan for people who sell and buy goods in three months interval. Cocoa is not a three – month interval crop, it is a crop that could last a minimum of 25 to 50 years.
Therefore when you are planning loans for farmers in cocoa. You should not be thinking of three months. It is an annual circle of 12 months. And therefore when you are planning to give loans to farmers, you should be thinking of repaying period of 1 year. Single digit is sufficient to maintain a farm that is considered the median for Nigerians. The most frequent or common cocoa area in Nigeria is about two to five acres.
It will cost about N2.5 million to sustain one acre, if you multiply that by two acres you would be talking about N5 million. Why will they give a cocoa farmer N250,000 thinking that they have assisted him, it is just like a biscuit to an elephant. A loan that would be given to a farmer should be sufficient enough to take care of his farm.
How best do you think that cocoa farmer could be assisted, in order to increase their production?
There are three things involved in agriculture, knowledge, material and capital. Capital has to do with land and equipment, tools, seeds and money. Skill, techniques, the ability to use resources in the most efficient and effective ways, minimizing waste and losses so as to achieve the best. That kind of knowledge is not on ground; you have to be taught, you have to be trained, and you have to be educated by those who know the latest technology.
The last stage is government policy which should be consisted and be able to monitor chemicals and spray which farmers are using for maximum production.
If a farmer produces what is very poisonous, he will not eat it alone, the market will buy it and many people will die. So protecting farmers in whatever input they buy is protecting the nation. That is where the national agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) should team up to make sure that what the farmer gets are not fake products.
How do you think Nigeria can regain its lost glory in the production of cocoa?
The demand and supply of the equation is well known to all, if you advertise and you create awareness for people, they will get to know what cocoa is all about likewise cashew, Kola nut, tea and coffee.
CRIN produce green tea, which is good for people’s health, high immune system and steady body circulation. Bow that is research, the ability to bring these wide ranges to the audience through education and advertisement. That is not the job of CRIN, that is the job of the ministry of education, agriculture and information, all combined, using common fund.
To improve the consumption of cocoa, government should team up with the cocoa industries and institute and then, educate people on minus and plus on cocoa; coffee, cashew, tea and kolanut.
If the government can borrow a leaf from the company that is producing Ndomie and within a few years it has become a household food, if such effort is put in cocoa production, it will follow such growth and wide acceptability by consumers.
Scientifically, cocoa has been found as a stress remover, the more cocoa you drink the more composed and relaxed you are, good lives start with cocoa. The original intention of cocoa was for the priest to relax and drink it in order to see vision. Now when it came to this side of the world, we started exporting it but not drinking it. A country like Switzerland manufactures a lot of chocolates it doesn’t grow a single tree of cocoa.
