The Nigerian government has commenced the rollout of one million free hybrid cocoa seedlings to farmers as part of efforts to revive the country’s industry of the product, improve productivity and strengthen the country’s position in the global cocoa market.
The initiative, announced on Wednesday, is aimed at supporting cocoa farmers with improved planting materials capable of delivering higher yields, while encouraging the rehabilitation of ageing plantations across cocoa-producing states. The programme is also expected to enhance farmers’ incomes and boost Nigeria’s export earnings from the crop.
Officials said the distribution of the hybrid seedlings forms part of the Federal Government’s broader agricultural transformation agenda, which seeks to improve food security, increase the supply of export commodities and create more employment opportunities within the agricultural value chain.
The improved varieties are designed to mature faster, resist diseases more effectively and produce higher yields than conventional seedlings, making them suitable for both new plantations and the replacement of old, unproductive trees.
The rollout builds on previous government interventions that provided hundreds of thousands of hybrid seedlings and other production inputs to farmers in cocoa-growing regions. The latest distribution significantly expands that support, with a target of reaching one million seedlings nationwide.
Nigeria is one of Africa’s leading cocoa producers, but industry stakeholders have consistently called for increased investment in improved seedlings, extension services and farm rehabilitation to enhance competitiveness and raise national output. The Federal Government has identified cocoa as one of the strategic non-oil commodities capable of driving economic diversification and increasing foreign exchange earnings.
