The Federal Government is seeking European investment in Nigeria’s one-million-hectare tree crops expansion programme to boost cocoa production, attract long-term financing and expand access to European markets.
The programme will be presented to European cocoa industry leaders and investors at the Nigeria/West Africa Cocoa Origins-EU Industry Match-Making Forum in Brussels, scheduled to hold alongside the Nigeria-Belgium-Luxembourg Business Forum.
The initiative will promote sustainable plantation development, backed by traceability systems and safeguards against deforestation, as European buyers prepare for the implementation of the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).
Dr Kingsley Uzoma, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Agribusiness, said Nigeria would present a structured investment plan rather than a pledge.
“Nigeria is presenting European industry with a plan, not a promise,” he said.
Uzoma said the programme would build on Nigeria’s existing cocoa production base of more than 350,000 farming families cultivating over 1.4 million hectares.
He said European investors would be invited to participate through long-term offtake agreements, co-investment in processing facilities and partnerships between regions.
The Agribusiness and Productivity Enhancement Project Management Office (AgPE PMO), in the Office of the Vice-President, will coordinate Nigeria’s participation with relevant federal ministries, departments and agencies, as well as cocoa-producing states.
The development was announced in a joint press statement issued on Thursday in Abuja by the AgPE PMO and the EU-Nigeria Agribusiness Platform (EUNAP).
Uzoma said both parties had agreed on terms of reference for sustained collaboration on policy engagement, mobilisation of grants and development resources, and commercialisation of cocoa and other agricultural value chains.
Roland Oroh, Founder and Director of Agribusiness Register Ltd. and Project Director of EUNAP, said European industry players wanted reliable supplies, consistent quality and verifiable evidence of sustainable production.
He said Uzoma’s participation in the forum’s plenary session would demonstrate high-level government commitment to the initiative.
The forum will connect European cocoa grinders, chocolate manufacturers and traders with vetted exporters, processors and cooperative federations from Nigeria, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire.
Oroh said the programme would feature pre-arranged business-to-business meetings, finance and regional partnership sessions, and an investment showcase featuring four flagship Nigerian projects.
The event will be held in a hybrid format, with virtual participation facilitated through EUNAP’s deal room.
