Cocoa farmers urge government to boost research support for climate-smart agriculture in Nigeria

Cocoa farmers has called on the federal and state government to improve support to research institutes to increase adoption of climate smart Agricultural practices by farmers. The farmers made the call in a communique issued at the end of its 3rd National Cocoa festival organised by the Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria (CFAN) and Cocoa Roundtable Initiative (CORI). The meeting was organised to deliberate on achieving EUDR compliance and cocoa value chain sustainability through youth entrepreneurship. The cocoa festival was attended by government agencies, research institutes, farmers in cocoa producing states, processors among others. The objective of the festival according to the organisers is to provide a comprehensive overview of the European Union Deforestation Regulations (EUDR) and its implications on Nigeria’s cocoa industry, to develop strategies for mapping of land under cocoa cultivation to establish traceability, monitoring deforestation and encourage sustainable ...