Expert wants defined policies on cocoa production, marketing

Dr. Abiodun Adedeji, Assistant Director, Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN), Ibadan, on Sunday urged the Federal Government to produce defined policies on cocoa production and marketing.

Adedeji made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan.

He said it was necessary for the government to have policies on cocoa farming with appropriate institutional framework to boost its production.

The Plant Pathologist said such policies should be consistent and that which could not be affected by change of government.

“There should be a well resourced regulatory body with specified functions to promote cocoa sector.’’

Adedeji said the government should also support farmers through the provision of interest-free loans and risk sharing mechanism to finance farming activities, among others.

“Law on land acquisition should be produced to enable farming compete with other contending factors,” he added.

The Assistant Director said farming should be made attractive to youths to create sustainable cocoa sector to reduce unemployment in the country.