The A A Universal Agro Company, says Nigeria can earn N900 billion ($600m) annually from the Ikom Cocoa Export Processing Plant in Cross River when it becomes fully operational.
The Managing Director of the agro company, Mr Chris Agara, made the disclosure in an interview on Sunday in Calabar.
Agara, whose firm was the concessionaire of the cocoa processing plant, said he was in partnership with an Israeli company B and Co, a member of the LR Group, to turn around the cocoa industry in Nigeria.
“My firm has a contract grant agreement between the United States of America Government through the United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA).
“The contract is to carry out feasibility study and bankable business plan to farm and develop cocoa and cassava farms and value chains from farm to table, to international standards and best practice.
“It will be for local uses and export purposes,” he said.
The industrialist said adopting the firm’s protocols and methodology would increase cocoa yield from its present 400kg per hectare to 3.5 tons per hectare.
He urged on the Federal Government to lend their support to enable the firm access funds from the International Finance Institute.
“The Federal Government should support us because this funding we are trying to raise is from the International Finance Institute.
“So, we need guarantee from the Federal Government to raise this funding.
“We also need guarantee from the state government through a policy, to ensure that Cross River cocoa is processed in Cross River, because most of our cocoa is taken out of the state by these merchants.
“Our foreign partner is one of the largest agro companies in Israel. Their technology can improve our cocoa farm yields from less than half a ton to 3.5 to 4 tons, which we want to introduce to the farmers.
“You can see we are out for serious business. We want to regenerate cocoa.
“As we move on, we will also help the farmers regenerate their farms to higher and better production level,” he said.
Agara also said the grant from the United States (US), included cassava because it was processed into a lot that the US needed.
“You can get industrial starch, pellets for drugs, cassava flour, and even this, our fufu is in high demand for Nigerians in the US and Europe.
“The contract will also serve as an opening to Nigeria to deal directly with the United States government on agricultural products, particularly cocoa and cassava, which is not happening today.
“We are restricted and don’t ship directly to the US as we speak, so you can make your findings.
“We can also ship directly to the US. This will help our balance of trade and our economy.
“This is what we have spent so much of my energy, time, and money to develop and get to this stage,” he said.
Agara explained that the first production line of the cocoa processing plant was functional, had been test run and presently relied on generator to power the plant.
He also said that the second phase of the plant was integrated and would make use of renewable energy to run the entire process.
According to him, when completed, the second phase will use cocoa from the farmers directly.
“It would thus save the farmers the stress and the labour of having to use women and children to crack their cocoa pods and do their drying and the rest,’’ he said.
Meanwhile, Agara has attributed the challenge of power to the delay in operation of the Ikom Cocoa Export Processing Plant.
He noted that the cost of production would be too much for the AA Universal Agro Company, if it decided to run the processing plant on diesel.
“There is no PHCN, and if you power it with diesel, you will run at a 1000 per cent loss because the cost of production will be too high.
“That is why we are constructing a renewable energy plant so that we can have our independent power supply while generator can serve as standby.
“That is why there have been delays. But with all this packaging we are putting together, by the time we take off fully, we can have a very dependent power source’’. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
