Olam Nigeria partners farmers/stakeholders to revive ageing cocoa trees

Olam Nigeria Limited is partnering farmers, private and government stakeholders in reviving ageing cocoa tree stocks in the South-West zone of the country.

To realise this goal, four local cocoa farmers from Ondo State were sponsored by Olam to a 12-day training in cocoa rehabilitation at the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN) Ibadan, Oyo State.

All the four farmers are small-holder producers of cocoa and members of Ore Agbe Akure (OAA), a farmer group based in Ondo State, set up in 2011 with the support of Olam Nigeria.

The training was organised by the Plant Breeding and Genetics department of the CRIN, in a bid to address the issue of ageing tree stocks and improve yields.

Daniel Adewale, a doctor, the leading resource person, speaking at end of the training, said Nigeria’s land area was no more expanding and most cocoa trees were already old.

Speaking on ageing cocoa trees in the South West, he pointed out that some of trees were up to 50 years old and were less productive, and there was need to bring about a technology that could rejuvenate them for enhanced productivity.

The resource person, who is also the head of the Plant Breeding and Genetics department at CRIN, said the new rehabilitation technology would bring about a 250 percent increase in cocoa productivity if fully utilised.

He said the training was both classroom and field based with a focus on top grafting of chupons, side grafting, bud-wood sliding and vegetative propagation methods.

One of the sponsored participants, Ojo Orimogunje thanked the company for giving him the opportunity to be well trained.

Orimogunje, who is the vice chairman, Igbalara Unit of Ore Agbe Akure, said “what impressed me most is that what we were trained for in CRIB, Ibadan, I never knew such existed in terms of cocoa production techniques,” adding “we believe that through this, we will be able to go back home and extend this training to other farmers and for our children who want to go into cocoa farming.’’

On his part, Lasun Adesokan, national vice president, Cocoa Association of Nigeria, another participant, said the training had come at the right time, adding that when farmers fully make use of the technology, Nigeria would definitely become one of the global leaders in cocoa production and this would be in line with Akinwunmi Adesina’s, minister of agric, cocoa transformation agenda and position us as Africa’s largest producer in the not too distant future.