Cocoa | Production | Processing| Gripping Economic Importance |

COCOA (Theobroma cacao)

The cocoa tree is a small (4–8 m tall) evergreen tree in the family Malvaceae, native to the deep tropical region of South America. Its seeds are used to make cocoa powder and chocolate.

Its height as well as the leaf area, branches, and canopy spread depending to a great extent, on the available space when grown from seed, cocoa tree (cacao) is fully developed at about the age of ten years. If the plant is well maintained, it will continue to profitable for more than 30 years.

The fruit, called a cacao pod, is ovoid, 15–30 cm long and 8–10 cm wide, ripening yellow to orange, and weighs about 500 g when ripe. The pod contains 20 to 60 seeds, usually called “beans”, embedded in a white pulp. The seeds are the main ingredient of chocolate, while the pulp is used in some countries to prepare a refreshing juice^[1].

Importance

Many different sorts of products can be derived from cocoa.

The husks of cocoa pods and the pulp, or sweatings, surrounding the beans and the cocoa bean shells can be used. Some examples of these uses are:

• The animal feeds from the cocoa husk,
• Production of soft drinks and alcohol.

Potash from cocoa pod husk – Cocoa pod husk ash is used mainly for soft soap manufacture. It may also be used as fertilizer for cocoa, vegetables, and food crops.

Jam and marmalade – Pectin for jam and marmalade is extracted from the sweatings

Once the beans have been fermented and dried, they can be processed to produce a variety of products. These products include:

1. Cocoa butter – Cocoa butter is used in the manufacture of chocolate. It is also widely used in cosmetic products such as moisturizing creams and soaps.
2. Cocoa powder – Cocoa powder can be used as an ingredient in almost any foodstuff. For example, it is used in chocolate-flavored drinks, chocolate-flavored desserts such as ice cream and mousse, chocolate spreads and sauces, and cakes and biscuits.
3. Cocoa liquor – Cocoa liquor is used, with other ingredients, to produce chocolate. Chocolate is used as a product on its own or combined with other ingredients to form confectionery products.

Cultivation

Cocoa can be grown within a wide range of rainfall from 1000-3000 mm or more per annum. When irrigation is available and the occurrence of dry winds is limited, the crop can be grown completely without rain. Cocoa plants respond well to a relatively high temperature with a maximum annual average of 30-32^oC and a minimum average of 18 -21^oC.

It does well on a deep, well-drained, and well-aerated soil with a pH of between 5 and 8. High organic matter content in the topsoil is essential for good growth and productivity.

Cocoa seedlings are raised in the Nursery and transplanted to the field when it is about 4 – 5 months. This is usually done when the rains are steady.

The seedlings are transplanted at a spacing of 3m x 3m giving a plant density of 1,111 plants/ hectare.

There are three distinct groups within the species Theobroma cacao that are cultivated for the international market. These are the Criollo, Forastero Amazonian, and Trinitario.

Routine maintenance such as weeding, mulching, pruning, replacement of dead seedlings, and regeneration of old cocoa plants are some of the production practices it requires for maximum productivity.                            

Pest and diseases

The major diseases of cocoa are as follows:

• The black pod disease: it’s the most serious disease of cocoa in West Africa, especially in Nigeria. It is caused by a fungus Phytophthora megakarya
• Swollen shoot disease of cacao
• Cherelle wilt
• Charcoal rot

Major pest includes:

• Cacao mirids
• Mealybug
• Cocoa pod borer
• Frosty pod rot

Harvesting

It takes cocoa pods from 150 – 180 days, depending on variety, from pollination to pod ripening.  Harvesting for harvesting the pod includes:

1. Sharp cutlass for plucking pods within reach
2. Harvesting knife with a short handle for harvesting pods well above the ground.
3. Harvesting knife attached to a long pole for harvesting pods from the topmost part of cacao.

Constraints

The production increase relied for a long time on an expansion of the planted areas. Limited forest availability imposes to promote intensified cocoa cultivation whilst maintaining the current areas. Thus, the competitiveness of cocoa cultivation becomes a decisive factor to stabilize the areas planted when cocoa is in competition with other crops. Villalobos (1989)^[3] also identified some of these factors as low yield, inconsistent production pattern, disease incidence, pest attack and use of simple farm tools.

The main challenges faced by the cocoa sector are the following:^[4]

• Improving production sustainability through adapted varieties and cost-effective crop management, including replanting;
• Limiting parasite pressure, a main limiting factor for cocoa production;
• Structuring the commodity chain, from a socio-economic point of view, especially in a context of liberalization which leads to State withdrawal and greater involvement of private companies, and
• Controlling quality to meet more diversified customer requirements

In addition, Oduwole (2004)^[5] in his study identified aging cocoa farms as one of the factors responsible for the decline in cocoa production in southwestern Nigeria. Many farms were over 40 years old and such farms constitute as much as 60% of the cocoa farms in Nigeria.

Economic importance

At present, the production capacity of cocoa in Nigeria has reached about 385, 000 metric tons per annum, an increase of 215, 000 metric tons from the year 2000 production level. This disposition places Nigeria as the fourth-highest cocoa-producing nation in the world after the Ivory Coast, Indonesia, and Ghana (Erelu, 2008). By implication, Nigeria competes favorably with other frontline producing nations in supplying the world market.

Cocoa grindings (demand)

                        Source: ICCO, Quarterly Bulletin of Cocoa Statistics

The demand for cocoa can only be sustained with a proportionate increase in the establishment of more plantations to increase productions to match the demand for this commodity worldwide.

General information

Production

Cocoa was the most important agricultural export crop in Nigeria during the 1950s and 1960s. The period was described as decades of glory for cocoa as it was the most important foreign exchange earner for Nigeria. Production peaked at 400,000 metric tons in 1970. However, the oil boom of the 1970s resulted in the ‘Dutch disease’ expressed in the neglect of the agricultural economy while focusing on oil which became almost the sole foreign exchange earner.

Currently, land area under Cocoa cultivation in Nigerian is estimated at 650,000 ha^[7]; with the production of 250,000 metric tonnes per annum^[8]. Ondo State, is the biggest producer, with 77,000 tons per annum[9].

Cocoa is widely cultivated in the southern belt of Nigeria owing to the soil and climatic condition prevailing in the area. This includes Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Ekiti, Kogi, Kwara, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, and Taraba. In terms of capacity, Ondo State is rated as the largest cocoa producing state in Nigeria (Oluyole, 2005)^[10].

Because of its importance, the recent Federal Government’s concern of diversifying the export base of the nation has placed cocoa in the Centre-stage as the most important export tree crop. Evidence has however shown that the growth rate of cocoa production has been declining, which has given rise to a fall in the fortunes of the subsector among other reasons^[11]. Folayan, et.al (2006)^[12], note that cocoa production in Nigeria witnessed a downward trend after the 1971 season, when its export declined to 216,000 metric tons in 1976, and 150,000 metric tons in 1986.

Nigeria is ranked fourth highest cocoa producing nation in the world after the Ivory Coast, Indonesia, and Ghana (Erelu, 2008)^[13].

Processing

This depends on the use to which it is meant for. However, in West Africa, the cocoa beans are marketed dry. After harvesting, the pods are opened by knocking against the blunt objects to avoid damage to the beans. These are set out for fermentation and drying.

The beans are fermented and the water content reduced from approximately 60% to 6 – 7%, in order to block the enzymatic reactions and to enable the product to be stored safely, free from pest and diseases.

Nigeria is not yet maximizing its income from cocoa production, as most of the beans are sold unprocessed. According to Salami (2000), there have been a total of seventeen cocoa processing companies in some parts of the cocoa-producing states of Nigeria between 1964 and 2006; however, only seven of them were functional. “The rest have either not been completed, closed down, or did not come on board at all. The processing companies have many problems such as inadequate working capital, irregular power supply, high cost of cocoa beans, inefficient and sometimes obstructive government policies.”

Cocoa Processors Association of Nigeria (CPAN) has been clamoring for the ban on the exportation of unprocessed Cocoa beans to encourage the processing locally. There was an attempt by the Nigerian government to ban the export of cocoa beans in 1990 to promote local industrialization, increase foreign exchange earnings, and facilitate technology transfer. However, the ban was short-lived because of policy failure and pressure from stakeholders, especially the Cocoa Association of Nigeria (CAN), which stressed that local industrial processing capacity was inadequate for handling the national cocoa beans output (Olomola et al, 1993; Ojo, 2005)^[14].

Improved varieties

The Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN) has intensified efforts at increasing cocoa production in the country with the introduction of eight new varieties of cocoa to Nigerian farmers. These varieties had the capacity to transform the cocoa industry in the sense that currently, the yield in the Nigerian farms is 450 kg per hectare but these new hybrid varieties have a potential of one to two tonnes per hectare^[15].

The Federal government in line with the transformation agenda to maximize the Cocoa industry by doubling the production figure to 500,000MT by 2015; distributed improved varieties to farmers to replace aging and enhance the establishment of new ones. The yield from this hybrid when fully adopted will increase farm yield and increase revenue for the individual and the country.

For more information contact senceagric@senceworld.com

References

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[1] Culled from Wikipedia

[2] Culled from International cocoa organization

[3] Villalobos, V.M. (1989) Advances in Tissue Culture Methods Applied to Coffee and Cocoa Plant Biotechnology for Developing Countries. The United Kingdom. CTA/FAO, Chayce Publication Services.

[4] Curtsey: Hubert OMONT – IPGRI – Commodity Chains

[5] Oduwole, O.O. (2004) Adoption of Improved Agronomic Practices by Cocoa Farmers in Nigeria: A Multivariate Tobit Analysis. Thesis (Unpublished). Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria

[6] Erelu, O.O. (2008) Cocoa for Health and Wealth. A Paper presented in a Fourth Cocoa Day Celebration in Osun State between 22nd – 24^th April.

[7] Curtsey: https://compassnewspaper.org

[8] Curtsey: https://pointblanknews.com

[9] Curtsey: https://businessnews.com.ng

[10] Oluyole, K.A. (2005).Evaluation of the Economics of Post Harvest Processing of Cocoa in Cross River State, Nigeria. Journal of Agriculture, Forestry, and Social Sciences. 3 (2): 58-64.

[11] Nankang NM, Abang SO, Akpan OE, and KJ Offem Cointegration and Error Correction Modelling of Agricultural Export Trade in Nigeria: The case of Cocoa. Journal of Agriculture and Social Sciences; 2006; 2(4): 249-255.

[12] Folayan JA, Daramola GA, and AE Oguntade Structure and Performance Evaluation of Cocoa Marketing Institutions in South-Western Nigeria: An Economic Analysis. Journal of Food, Agriculture, and Environment. 2006; 4 (2): 123-128.

[13] Erelu, O.O. (2008) Cocoa for Health and Wealth. A Paper presented in a Fourth Cocoa Day Celebration in Osun State between 22nd – 24^th April.

[14] Olomola, Ade, A.C. Nwosu, B.A. Oni, S.O. Akande and B.O. Akanji (1993). Prospects for Increased Value-added in Nigeria Cocoa Exports, NISER Monograph Series No.3, 1993.

[15] Culled from  Nigerian Tribune

[16] https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/other/health-benefits-of-cocoa.html

[17] Featured image photo source: https://www.icco.org/

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