PRESS STATEMENT
26th July, 2024.
Open Letter to EU Commission
Attention:
Janusz Wojciechowski : EU Commissioner for Agriculture.
Rude de la Loi / Wetstraat 200, 1049
Brussels, Belgium.
Dear Sir,
COCOA FARMERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (CFAN) APPEALS FOR THE POSPONEMENT OF THE EUROPEAN UNION DEFORESTATION REGULATIONS (EUDR) IMPLEMENTATION, FROM DECEMBER 2024 TO DECEMBER 2025. AND THAT NIGERIA HAS REACHED ABOUT 60 PERCENT FULL TRACEABILITY IN HER SUPPLY CHAIN THROUGH DUE DILIGENCE EFFORT OF STAKEHOLDERS.
Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria will like to join the Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and several other voices around the globe, incuding United of America, EU member States on the need for the European Union to postpone the implementation of EUDR compliance for another one year.
Our appeal is based on the imminent negative impact on the livelihoods of cocoa farmers, if the present date is not shifted by one year to enable better preparations by the smallholder cocoa farmers, whom have been hampered by lack of adequate information on EUDR at their farm gate levels.
Nigeria is one of the cocoa origins countries in the World, contributes about 6.5% to the global cocoa production and accounted for 29℅ of the total agricultural export in 2023, valued at N1.24 trillion with an estimated value estimated to be N 356.16 billion, makes it imperative for the EU Commission to reconsider the need for the postponement of EUDR for one year to enable better preparations.
Nigeria now had about 279 per cent increment in cocoa exports revenue. And the majority of our cocoa farmers are in penury, aside the new cocoa soaring prices recently enjoyed by the farmers of Nigeria due to the deregulation of the Nigeria cocoa sector, above our cocoa farmers counterpart in Ivory Coast and Ghana that run a regulated cocoa board which buys and sells cocoa unlike what obtains in Nigeria. EUDR compliant might be pushing our cocoa farmers into more poverty if the time frame is not re-adjusted.
You must recalled that it was CFAN that first raised the alarm on EUDR in the year 2021, through a press conference done in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture & Food Security at the Ministry’s headquarters in Abuja in October. This was at a time the Association was preparing for the scheduled Nigerian Cocoa Summit & Award event that was held in November 30th and 1st December 2021 at Sandrela Hotel, Abuja.
We are aware of the fact that Nigeria cocoa could be at a risk if we do not take necessary legal steps to stop and remediate deforestation and come up with strategies of gaining forest loss in our cocoa communities through our collective action. And also comply with other factors listed in the Articles 3(b) of the regulations which also deals with land rights, human rights, labour right, laws of the indegenous people, tax and corruption now starring us in the face as a cocoa origins country.
Today, where are the people calling us agent of doom on many national news platforms when we raised the alarm in 2021? Nigerians would testify to CFAN outcry to the relevant government institution and several media outlets, the impending actions of the EU on due diligence, which requires full traceability disclosure of these listed products: wood, cocoa, oil palm, soy, rubber, coffee and cattle.
We appreciate the good disposition of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, representing the Federal Government of Nigeria and the 9th National Assembly, when the house acted on a motion presented by one of the House of representatives member from Lagos State, and directed the FMARD as it was known then and FMITI to look into the issues raised by CFAN, which showed that the Nigeria cocoa industry worth 770 million USD will be at a risk if we do not take urgent steps to solve some sustainability issues like deforestation and traceability.
However, we have continued to take some positive steps to make Nigeria cocoa sector sustainable as a leading and largest smallholder cocoa farmers organization, with collaborations with relevant stakeholders and partners in the last 5 years. All these collaborations have yielded positive results for the industry in the 3 key index areas of sustainable development ; social – economic and environmental which guaranteed a promising future for our cocoa value chain.
We have embarked on an advocacy and capacity trainings for our cocoa farmers in the areas of the protection of our ecosystem, based on the production of deforestation-free cocoa and protection of the rights of our labours and children. These trainings were done in partnership with other stakeholders across the cocoa producing communities tagged: Cocoa Farmers Roundtable Conference. The initiative brought together all cocoa operators in each cocoa producing states e. g farmers, local buying agents, buyers, processors, exporters, extentionists, policy makers, inputs providers, researchers etc.
The trainings also dwelt on good cocoa production practices e.g safe usage of cocoa inputs, application of approved pesticides in cocoa farm, climate change & mitigation, cocoa agroforestry practices, child labour eradication and sustainable farm management.
Due to the critical role finance plays in cocoa production and productivity, the Association had souce funding for cocoa farm maintenance in the year 2021 through the Central Bank of Nigeria -Anchor Borrowers Program scheme, in order to sustain and expand cocoa investment productivity. It has a single digit interest ratesand disbursed to 10 cocoa producing States; Ondo, Ekiti, Oyo, Kwara, Cross River, Abia, Edo, Osun, Ogun and Delta. One of the requirements of the loan facility was that each of the beneficiaries farms must be mapped.
About 1,227 cocoa farmers benefitted from the CBN-ABP loan which amounted to N723 million above at 1% less N600,000 per beneficiary, while the number of hectares covered by the scheme was at 3 hectares per beneficiary, totally 3,681 hectares across the 10 beneficiaries States.
This was the first sustainable loan given to cocoa farmers of Nigeria nationally in the last 20 years. The loan, after two years of disbursement and continuous repayment by the beneficiaries, has steadily increased the productivity of the beneficiaries farms by 30% and sustainable practices by 70% based on the independent survey report conducted by reputable consultant, facilated by the CBN to appraise the performance of the loan and it’s foot print across the beneficiaries communities. Most beneficiaries are alive and can also testify to the huge success of the loan scheme.
CFAN also organized the first privately driven and publicly enabled Nigerian Cocoa Summit & Award in order to find workable solutions to the issues affecting the cocoa industry. This summit was in partnership with relevant government ministries, agencies and private sector operators.
The Summit brainstormed extensively on the EUDR coming to force, living Income deferential, national cocoa plan, inadequate local cocoa processing, value addition & consumption and the need for Nigeria to have a cocoa regulatory framework that will drive the industry, rather than the system being on autopilot that has not helped the growth of the sector. The summit communique was released to the public. CFAN continuous advocacy led to the Nigerian delegation to Ghana on fact finding mission. The delegation to Ghana was mandated by the FMAFS to study how Ghanaian cocoa economy is being run and how Nigeria could benefits from their wealth of experience as the second largest producer of cocoa in the world.
The report of the 5 man delegation to Ghana, led to the inauguration of the 11 man National Cocoa Management Committee on the 2nd August, 2022 by the former Honourable Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, now Food Security, Mohammad Abubakar. The Honourable Minister said in his inauguration speech that it was the outcry of the Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria, especially concerning living income and other demand such as cocoa regulatory framework, and the need for stakeholders to respond to the EUDR compliance informed his decision to constitute and inaugurate the committee. The committee will oversee the affairs of the cocoa industry with her membership drawn across the cocoa supply chain .
We are delighted that NCMC has since swung into action by mobilizing stakeholders in the sector to solve some sustainability issues e.g low production & productivity leading to poor income among cocoa farmers, child labor, deforestation, ecosystems mis-management, pesticides residue, infrastructural gaps, inadequate traceability system, low value addition, low cocoa processing, lack of access to finance, policy inconsistencies etc .
These numerous challenges highlighted above are being handled by several partnership programs initiated by the NCMC since her inauguration with relevant supply chain operators. Of recent, the NCMC members paid a courtesy visit to the Honourable Minister Of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari with the Honourable Minister of State and the Permanent Secretary. Issues like the EUDR compliance, Nigeria Cocoa Plan and funding of the committee top the major agenda discussed at the parley. And the Honourable Minister gave his full support to the committee, while he also restated the commitment of the present Administration under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to the development of the Nigeria cocoa economy.
Another interventions by CFAN is in the provision of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) book to cocoa farmers free of charge across the major and minor cocoa producing States in Nigeria. The Association collaborated with her partners in the areas of resourcefulness and funding for the publication of the GAP books, in order to make it free for our cocoa farmers. We appreciate the contributions of our partners to this project especially CRIN, EBAFOSA, Harvestfield Industries Ltd, ofi, Ooni of Ife Outreach, Starlinks Global & Ideal Ltd, Gbemtan Ltd, FMAFS, FMITI, but space cannot permit us to mention other company’s name one by one. About 46,000 copies of the GAP book have being freely distributed so far.
The Association is gearing up again to extend the distribution of the GAP book to the cocoa farmers in Kurmi Local Government of Taraba State, being one of the cocoa producing States in the Northern Nigeria, having boundaries with the Cameroun.The most interesting thing about the GAP book is its interpretation in local languages that cut across the demographic spread of our cocoa plantations for wider understanding and accessibility to the cocoa farm gate. The donation of the GAP book free serves as an advocacy mechanism to inform cocoa players, particularly our cocoa farmers on EUDR domestication. The book also advised cocoa farmers against deforestation and child labor practices that could undermine the future of our cocoa trade.
The book addresses tropical issues like agroforestry, traceability and climate change and its impact on our ecosystems, while it offers practicable solutions for mitigation, resillency and adaptation.
In order for CFAN to deepen her sustainability programs, especially as it’s concerned strengthening the collaboration among stakeholders, CFAN came up with the National Cocoa Festival event to replace the Nigerian Cocoa Farmers Day earlier celebrated by the Association in the year 2019 and 2021.
The celebration of the 1st & 2nd National Cocoa Festival events took place in Ondo and Abuja, while the 3rd National Cocoa Festival event will now takes place in Calabar, Cross River State on the 23rd and 24th October, 2024. The festival has become platform to address the prevailing issues in the Nigeria cocoa industry.
The contributions and participations of partners, NGO’s, CBO’s and other global cocoa organizations like ICCO, Ghana and Ivory Coast Cocoa Initiative, Cocoa Association of Nigeria, Lutheran World Relief, Harvestfield, Ooni of Ife Outreach, FMAFS, FMITI, NEPC, SON, Ondo State Cocoa Council, Johnvents, Afex, NAFDAC, NEXIM, CRIN, ofi(OLAM),Barry Callebaut, Tulip, Agro Traders, Loom Chocolate, Farmers Agro Investment Ltd, Cocoa Producing State Government representatives e.t.c to the successful hosting of the past events had been commendable.
The issue of standard harmonization(SH) which is one of the requirements for due diligence statement (DDS) in each cocoa trading countries has been taken care of by the Standard Organization of Nigeria, Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria and other stakeholders in collaboration with cocoa origins countries in West Africa under African Organization For Standardization (ARSO).
CFAN believe in traceability through the mapping of her members farm plots and has made conscious effort to continue to geo-locate all her members cocoa farm plots gradually across the cocoa communities in Nigeria.
No doubt, the Association is one of the partners to the U.S Department of Agriculture & Lutheran World Relief for Food for Progress Traceability and Resillence in Agriculture and Cocoa Ecosystems (TRACE) project, which is expected to contribute to the development and strengthening of the Nigerian cocoa traceability system. The project will also train our cocoa farmers on climate smart practices in order to enhance access to market. These six States are the only beneficiaries to the project; Ondo, Ekiti, Osun, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Abia. And will be finance to the tune of 22 million USD in the next five years.
Moreover, the use of mapping to determine the traceability of our cocoa plantations location has been carried out by many of our exporters and processors through their sourcing companies operations in most cocoa communities. These companies used their sustainability programs to collect the bio-data of their cocoa farmers’ supplier through the mapping of their farmers’ farm plots e.g farmer’s identity, sex, family size, plot size(determining polygons, longitudes & latitudes), location, community etc in order to train them on sustainable practices with empowerment.
In order to eradicate child labour practices in our cocoa supply chain, the Association deliberately partnered with organizations like International Labour Organization, Nigeria Employers Consultative Association and Lutheran World Relief through various community programs like ACCEL Africa, GALLAB , CLEAR etc. These projects are specifically for the cocoa producing communities in Nigeria and Ondo State in particular, being the highest cocoa producing State and other high risk States in child labour practices.
These programs identify the high risk cocoa communities in child labour with necessary advocacy deployed to tackle the issue headlong. Education is used as remediation tool by CLEAR project being sponsored by the Lutheran World Relief, through an intensive sensitization and support to both the parent and the vulnerable children in their communities, with necessary skill acquisitions and other empowerment training that would make them self reliant, while encouraging their children to go to school.
Also, in our determination to implement some of these collaborative activities enumerated above, and coordinate effectively the administration of her operation, the leadership built the first utramodern National Secretariat known as “COCOA HOUSE” in Akure, Ondo State in the year 2021. This edice was commissioned by the former Honourable Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Alhaji Muhammad Sabo Nanono in person on Monday, 26th July, 2021.
Fact-check it, this building was the first of it kind in the history of the commondity farmers associations development, aside the fact that the funding came only from the leadership of the Association, without support from either the government or private entity, according to the speech made on behalf of the Association by her National President, Comrade Adeola Adegoke, at the unveiling of the building in Akure.
This building has continued to serve as the hub to coordinate all the activities of the Association directly with her members (smallholder cocoa farmers in all the cocoa producing communities) and partners both at home and abroad. It ensures seamless delivery of her service mandate with the public. It has also strengthened our Association cooperatives at the farm gate, thereby increasing our membership drive. Another benefit of the building to the Association is in the areas of image and confidence boosting for our service delivery to our partners.
Considering the devastating effects of deforestation which contributes to climate change, global warming, high sea level, flooding and irregular rainfall, the Association strategically partner with the Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria, Federal Ministry of Environment and Food Agriculture Organization and other partners to solve the menace through FAO-GEF 7 Food Systems, Land Use and program in Ondo and Cross River States.
In furtherance to the Association commitments to improve the Nigeria cocoa quality across her cocoa communities, a strategic training on post-harvest processing practices for the smallholder cocoa farmers was embarked upon in collaboration with Loom Craft Chocolate in Ondo State. The pilot communities were Ofosu (Karo, Atupa etc), Igbaraoke and Ibuji, located in Idanre and Ifedore Local Governments.The selected beneficiaries cocoa farmers were train in best practices involving cocoa harvesting, pod breaking, fermentation and sun-drying to enhance good flavor and enjoy premium, while enhancing market access. This project is to be upscale to other cocoa communities very soon.
It is on the available empirical data evidence from all the operating cocoa companies, government at all levels (Federal, State&Local) policy/investments and CFAN sustainable programs enumerated above, inform our conclusion that if Nigeria concludes the harmonization of all the existing data of farm plots that have been mapped for the individual cocoa companies operating presently, having sustain the collective management of our ecosystems, we will be at about 60 percent traceability compliant as a cocoa origins country with full disclosure.
We commend the EU commission for their effort and cooperation to make the Nigeria and global cocoa industry sustainable, and we assure you of our utmost cooperation to build a collective sustainable global cocoa economy.
Thank you.
Warm regards.
Comrade Adeola Adegoke
National President,
Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria CFAN
Cocoa House: No;28, Afere Street, Owode, Opp. Old NITEL Office, Akure South, Ondo State.
gokeadeolacfan@gmail.com
08034723426/07051719495
CC:
1.His Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu
President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
2.Senator Abubakar Kyari,
Honourable Minister of Agriculture and Food Security.
3.Doris Nkiruka Uzoka-Anite
Honourable Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment.
