Nigeria may once again, witness boom in cocoa production, as its output is expected to hit over 295,000, about 5.4 percent rise from last season.
According to reports, last season’s yields totalled 280,000 tonnes, short of a 300,000 tonnes estimate as dry weather in 2014 and 2015 hindered the development of the mid-crop.
Though, International Cocoa Organization, ICCO, gave lower estimates of Nigerian cocoa output, forecasting last season’s production at 210,000 tonnes.
The President of Cocoa Association of Nigeria, CAN, Sayina Riman, disclosed that the output increased, after late rains in October while November will help in pod formation.
He also noted that Cocoa season in Nigeria, regarded as the world’s fourth biggest producer runs from October to September with October-to-February as main crop, disclosing that it has a smaller light or mid-crop that begins in April or May and runs through September.
“Our initial forecast was a drop, we were expecting 240,000 tonnes. But two months of favourable weather has brought about cherries that have grown into pods. That’s enough to give us an increase in production” Riman stated.
He said that farmers were optimistic for the main crop because of the late rains, which could push the 2015 and 2016 harvest up to March, adding that cocoa trees were shedding fruits before now due to dry weather, saying the intermittent rainfall with sunshine since October has been helping the beans.
Commenting on the prospects of higher yields, Emmanuel Ajayi, who owns five-hectare cocoa farm in Ondo state, explained that “cocoa is flowering now and bringing new leaves.
Those flowers most of them will turn to pod that will come up for February/March 2016 harvest,” said. However, farmers and produce analysts believe that the output may be affected, if the rains stopped and hoping to continue so that bean formation will not be disrupted.
Federal Government is working on agricultural commodities, including cocoa, to help plug shortfalls from oil revenues, which has been hammered by low crude prices.