International Institute of Tropical Agricultural (IITA) and its partners have recorded success in its research on soil management for Cocoa to increase yield and avoid deforestation.
Stakeholders at the Annual Cocoa-Soils Forum 2022 held at IITA, Ibadan on Thursday, expressed satisfaction on the progress made for the first phase on Integrated Soils Fertility Management (ISFM) for Cocoa production in four countries.
The event had the theme: “Looking Back and Moving Forward: Knowledge Gaps to Create a Sustainable Cocoa Sector “.
In his address, Dr Mohammad Mahmood, the Minister, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, (FMARD),, represented by Mr Frank Kudia, Director of Extension, FMARD, appreciated the collaboration of partners in the implementation of the Cocoa-Soil Project in Nigeria.
He noted that due to the challenges facing the cocoa sector there was a significant decline in production and foreign earnings, adding that the ministry had taken steps to address the situation.
Mahmood said the intervention on ISFM was timely to complement efforts of the government to address the challenges affecting cocoa production in Nigeria.
In his address, Mr Daniel Van Gilst, a Senior Adviser at the Department of Climate and Environment, NORAD that funded the project said the project objectives had always been to reach a sustainable cocoa supply sector.
“To reach the farmers with increased productivity income by 30 per cent, efficient use of agricultural inputs and rural livelihoods of 90,000 people while avoiding deforestation,” Gilst said.
He stated that the end of the first financial phase had improvements towards the objectives of the project but noted that the project needed to ensure a sustainable Cocoa system where people can live off and is not harmful to the environment.
“Of course there are other challenges, in addition to climate change which the project needs to adapt to-looming in the horizon:
Steady increase of energy prices over time and the recent war in Ukraine, has caused fertiliser and other input costs to soar in price.
“Availability of inputs is also becoming difficult in some countries. This will affect access and consequently will affect the cocoa production negatively.
“There is, therefore, a need to look at alternatives to chemical fertilisers,” he said.
Also, Dr Patrick Adebola, Executive Director, Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN), Ibadan, said the project objective was to solve the problem of declining soil fertility and degradation of cocoa soil.
