EVALUATION OF COCOA RESUSCITATION PROGRAMMES IN SOUTH WEST NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

The broad objective of the study was to evaluate the cocoa resuscitation programmes (CRPs) in south west Nigeria. Specifically,  the study was designed  to: determine  the adoption levels of the various improved cocoa technologies introduced to cocoa farmers by government and non-governmental agencies; ascertain the beneficiaries’ perception of the  helpfulness  of the agencies  in the adoption  of  the improved  cocoa technologies; determine the impact of the programmes on cocoa production and socio-economic life of the  farmers;  ascertain  the  perceived  constraints  to  the  adoption  of  improved  cocoa technologies by the farmers; identify the perceived constraints to the implementation of CRPs; identify strategies to improve on the programmes; and determine farmers’ attitude towards the programmes. Three hypotheses and a conceptual framework were developed for the  study. The study was carried out in South west Nigeria. The zone comprises Lagos, Ondo, Ogun, Ekiti, Osun and Oyo states. Presently, 5 out of the 6 states in South west Nigeria produce cocoa and they are grouped into high producing (Ondo and Osun) and medium producing (Ogun, Oyo and Ekiti) States. The 2 high cocoa producing States (Ondo and Osun) were purposively selected for the study because  of their significant contributions to cocoa production in Nigeria, while Ekiti State  was randomly selected from the medium producing states. Hence, a total of 3  cocoa producing states (Ondo, Osun and Ekiti) were selected for the study. A multi-stage sampling technique was used in the selection of the respondents. A total of 120 government beneficiary cocoa farmers (GBCFs),   120   non-government   beneficiary   cocoa   farmers   (NGBCFs),   120   non- beneficiary cocoa farmers  (NBCFs),  30 Agricultural Development  Programme (ADP) and 6 Olam extension staff were randomly selected. Hence a total of 396 respondents were  involved  in  the  study.  Data  for  the  study  were  collected  through  the  use  of questionnaire   and  interview  schedules.  The  data  were  analysed,  using  frequency, percentage, charts, mean statistic, t-test, analysis of variance, factor analysis and multiple regression. The findings showed that the mean age values of the government beneficiary cocoa  farmers  (GBCFs),  non-governmental  beneficiary  farmers  (NGBCFs)  and  non beneficiary  cocoa  farmers  (NBCFs)  were  57.1  years,  56.3   years  and  56.8  years, respectively. Their mean cocoa farming experiences were 23.7 years, 28.1 years and 22.9 years, respectively. The grand mean adoption scores of planting young cocoa seedlings under old cocoa trees by the GBCFs and NGBCFs were 5.0 and 5.0, respectively. Cocoa development  unit  (CDU)  (M=1.54)  and  the  Agricultural  Development  Programme (ADP) (M=2.80) were the most helpful agencies to GBCFs in their consideration  and adoption of the improved cocoa technologies. Olam Nigeria Limited (ONL)  (M=2.52) and Saro Agro-Allied  Limited (SAL) (M=2.00) were the most helpful agencies to the NGBCFs in their consideration and adoption of the improved cocoa  technologies. The programmes had positive impact on the yield and quality of cocoa beans and the socio- economic   life   of   the   participating   farmers.   The   major   constraints   to   effective implementation of the programmes in the study area included inadequate and untimely release  of  funds  (ADP=93.3%;   ONLs=66.7%),   poor  agricultural   pricing   policies (ADP=100.0%; ONLs=83.3%) and poor logistic supports for field staff (ADPs=96.7%; ONLs=83.3%). Factors that were responsible for poor adoption of the improved cocoa technologies  by  the   beneficiary  farmers  were  grouped  into  organizational-related constraints,  input-related  constraints  and  financial-related  constraints.  The  perceived solutions to implementation constraints as opined by the extension staff included timely disbursement of funds meant for CRPs (86.1%) and increase in the number of extension staff (83.3%),  while the perceived  strategies  of improving  CRPs as  indicated  by the cocoa  farmers  included  strengthening  of  the  existing  farmers’  organizations  through proper coordination and monitoring (85.0%), and decentralisation of training on CRPs (76.0%). The findings further revealed that majority (77.0%) of the beneficiary farmers were favourably disposed  to CRPs.  The regression analysis showed that some socio- economic characteristics of the beneficiary farmers significantly influenced (F = 10.849; F ≤ 0.05) the adoption of improved cocoa technologies. The study recommended that to improve the level of adoption of improved cocoa technologies of government and ONLs, the trainings and workshop organised for farmers on cocoa improve technologies should be decentralised. Funds meant for CRPs should be released on time by the appropriate authorities  of  government  and  non-governmental  agencies.  Also,  there  should  be  a functional monitoring and evaluation team in both government  and  non-governmental agencies to oversee their activities on CRPs. Establishment of special trust fund in cocoa producing states could help in solving the problem  of  funding cocoa programmes  in Nigeria.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background information

Agricultural activities constitute the mainstay of a large proportion of  African population. In Nigeria, agriculture has remained the largest sector of the economy.   It generates employment for about 70% of Nigeria’s population and contributes about 40% to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) with crops accounting for 80%, livestock 13%, forestry 3% and fishery 4% (Federal Republic of Nigeria,  2006).   The tree crop sub- sector, of which cocoa is a major component is very important in African agriculture and contributes significantly to the income of farmers. It plays a critical role in sustaining biodiversity,  sound management of natural resources and provides additional pathways for the diversification and intensification of food crop systems. The relevance of cocoa to most developing economies cannot be overemphasized  as cocoa is produced by more than fifty developing countries across Asia, Africa, and Latin America, all of which are in tropical or semi-tropical areas (Ogunleye and Oladeji, 2007).

Cocoa is an important crop to the economies of some countries such as Nigeria, Cote D’Ivoire, Ghana and Cameroon in West Africa. It is generally believed that cocoa cultivation in Nigeria started about 1879, when a local chief established a plantation at Bonny in Cross River State, Nigeria.  However,  cultivation in Bayelsa State, Nigeria, began afterwards  in 1892 (Amos,  2007).  Cocoa was one of major  foreign  exchange earners in Nigeria before the discovery of crude oil in 1957. This accounted for a greater part of the foreign exchange generated for the country between the 1950s and 70s. It is a source of employment to millions of people, from farmers to processors, licensed buying agents (LBA), ware  housing agents and brokers. It is estimated  that over 50% of the foreign exchange derived in Nigeria comes from cocoa alone. In the 1950s, 80% of the foreign exchange generated in the country was from cocoa. The trend however changed in the 1980s when there was a sharp decline in production, resulting in decreased foreign exchange generation {Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN), 2007}.

The production of this important cash crop for export has suffered a  reduction and unstable production in recent years in the country (Table 1) owing to a number of factors. According to FGN (2007), the decline in production could be attributed to the following causes: advent of the petroleum sector which led to the neglect of agriculture; policies and activities of the Nigerian Cocoa Marketing Board (NCMB) of 1978-1986; non-availability and high cost of cocoa production inputs; activities of middlemen; over- aged and low yielding trees; non-remunerative prices; non- availability of farm labour; old agronomic practices; poor nutrient  status of cultivated  land; and lack of credit to cocoa farmers.

According to Daramola (2004), the most cocoa farms in Ondo and Osun States are  very old  with  low  productivity,  while  farms  in Cross River  State  are  relatively younger and mostly in productive phase. In addition, Oduwole (2004) identified ageing cocoa farms as one of the factors responsible for the decline in cocoa production in south western Nigeria. He observed that many farms were over 40 years old and such farms constituted  as much as 60% of the cocoa  farms  in  Nigeria.  Other  factors  that  have contributed  to  the  decline  in  cocoa  production  included,  the  problem  of  pests  and diseases,  use  of  poor  planting  materials,  defective  methods  of  harvesting  and  poor handling  of  post  harvest  processes   and  inefficient  agricultural  extension  services (Fanaye, Adeyemi and Olaiya, 2003; Idowu in Ogunleye and Oladeji, 2007).

Also, data in Table 1 revealed  that the country’s  average  production level  of 239,000 metric tons recorded between 1970 and 1974 was far above the production level of 150,200 metric tonnes between 1995 and 1999 probably as a result of abandonment of cocoa farms.

  Table 1: Nigeria cocoa production trends between 1967 and year 2009

1967 – 1969 227,660 1970 – 1974 239,000 1975 – 1979 203,000 1980 – 1984 152,000 1985 – 1989 135,200 1990 – 1994 141,000 1995 – 1999 150,200 2000 – 2004 175,600 2005 – 2009 226,000

  Period                                                Production level (metric tons)           

Sources: Gill and Duffus in Adeogun (2008a); ICCO (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 & 2009)

To resuscitate  cocoa production and marketing,  and hence,  salvage  the  cocoa industry from further decline, there was the need for the intervention of both government and non-government  organizations  (NGOs). In the recent years, the  federal, state and local governments  of Nigeria  and certain NGOs have been  seriously involved  in the resuscitation processes. In 1999, the FGN established Cocoa Resuscitation Programme (CRP)  which  was  to  be  executed  by the  National  Cocoa  Development  Committee (NCDC). The NCDC was saddled with the responsibilities of :

(i)        providing inputs such as pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, cutlasses,  harvesting hooks, jute bags, rain boots, and rain coats to cocoa farmers;

(ii)       organizing trainings on cocoa rehabilitation techniques, cocoa fermentation and nursery management practices of cocoa; and

(iii)      distributing improved variety seedlings and pods from Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria  (CRIN)  through  Cocoa  Development  Units (CDUs)  or  Tree  Crop Units (TCUs) to all cocoa producing states in Nigeria (Adeogun, 2008b).

For the success of the programme, the CRIN, which was established in 1964 as a research organization was re-vigorated  and re-saddled  with a set of new  mandates of improving   the   genetic   potential;   agronomic   and   husbandry   practices   of   cocoa; identifying the ecology and methods of controlling pests and diseases affecting the crop; investigating the effective utilization of the crop and its by-products; and the feasibility of small-scale production of such end-use products. Others included  integration of the cultivation of the crop into farming system where the crop is  grown by farmers; and translation of research results and improved  technologies  into practice among farmers and manufacturers in order to improve production and socio-economic life of the people.

According to CRIN report (2006), the Institute has achieved the following among others: development and distribution of improved cocoa seedlings tolerance to black pod disease; development of organic-based manure to satisfy fertilizer requirements in cocoa nurseries;  identification  of Dursan  and  Actara  2525WP  as  alternative  insecticides  to Gamalin 20 E.C; increase in land utilization by intercropping cocoa with cocoyam, yam, cassava, maize, melon, okra and pepper before canopy closure and demonstration and recommendation  of rehabilitation  methods for old, moribund  and/or fire gutted cocoa plantations.

For the efforts of the CRIN to be adequately complimented,  the CDU in  each cocoa producing state was sufficiently fortified and charged with the  responsibility of general development and improvement of improved cocoa as an economic tree crop. The successes recorded  included: raising and distribution  of  cocoa seedlings to farmers at subsidized   rate;  provision   of  technical   advice   to   farmers  on  cultural   practices; rehabilitation   of  old  productive   cocoa  trees;   distribution   of  chemicals   and  farm equipment at subsidized rate (TCDU, 2008). Each state Ministry of Agriculture was also re-organized for effective dissemination of improved cocoa agronomic practices.

Within   the  short   period   of  operation,   the  NCDC   had   made   remarkable achievements. In 2005, the fourteen cocoa producing states raised a total of 5,976,854 seedlings which were distributed  free of charge to farmers. Old  plantations were also rehabilitated through the application of agrochemicals and better husbandry practices. In order to sustain and improve on these performances, the FGN in 1999 launched a special programme  tagged “Cocoa Rebirth” in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria, in  order  to create awareness of the wealth creation potentials of cocoa, promote  increase in production, attract  youth into  cocoa cultivation,  and also  raise funds  for the development  of the industry. A similar one was also held in Yola, Adamawa State, Nigeria.   According to Tunde  (2007),  many  of  the  ailing  industries  are  now  waking  up.  Moribund  cocoa industries have been rejuvenated and new farms are also springing up.

Private individuals and organizations such as Saro Agro-Allied Limited  (SAL), Sustainable Tree Crops Programme (STCP)-Nigeria and Olam Nigeria  Limited (ONL) were also encouraged to participate maximally in the cocoa rehabilitation programme in different states of the federation.  The SAL was  established  in 1991 as an indigenous company whose focus was on the area of  procurement,  processing and exportation of raw cocoa beans (Oluwakemi,  2008).  On the other hand, the STCP-Nigeria  is a sub- programme of the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA). It took-off in 2000  and  its  primary  objectives  were  to  enhance  productivity  of  cocoa  farms  and improve marketing efficiency in the cocoa sector (STCP-Nigeria, 2009).

The  ONL  is  a  private,  commercial  and  multi-products  company  which  was established  in 1989 by the Kewalram Chanrai Group (KCG), with its  headquarters in Singapore  and principal office  in Lagos.  Its regional  offices  are  found  in Kano  and Akure. It provides what could be called specialized extension services and uses specific agricultural  products  (such as cocoa, coffee,  cashew,  sheanuts,  sesame,  rice and teak wood) as industrial materials. Its cocoa business  began in Nigeria in 1992 and it has participated in all aspects of cocoa business like production, marketing and processing, in the cocoa-producing states such as Ondo, Osun, Ekiti, Edo, Ogun, Cross River, Taraba and Adamawa (Olam, 2007).

Available  record  reveals  that  ONL  had  implemented  model  farming  concept (MFC)  under  the  Nucleus  Estate  Initiatives  (NEI),  an  out-growers’  programme,  by reviving old farm settlements and model farms in all cocoa growing states. Besides, it has launched  training and awareness  programmes,  covering  about 6,000 farmers and capacity building across the cocoa producing  states.  The farmers’  plots are taken as demonstration  plots on which the practical  trainings are done in demonstration  farms being managed in Ondo, Osun and Ekiti States. The programme has been instrumental to the observed improved productivity,  better quality produce and effective already-made markets for the cocoa farmers and marketers (Akinnagbe, 2008). The organization also introduced Self Help Initiative (SHI) to enhance the crops’ sustainability. The SHI gave opportunity   to   farmers   to  form  co-operatives,   share   common   facility,   idea  and information (Babatola, 2009).

The  activities  of  these  organizations  needed  to  be  evaluated  to  confirm  the acclaimed  performances.  According  to  Horton  et al (1993),  evaluation  is the  act  of judging, appraising or determining the value or quality of a programme,  whether it is proposed,  on-going  or completed.  It is also  the  process  of  providing  reliable,  valid, relevant and useful information to decision makers about  the operation and effects of social programmes (Alkin, 1990). On the other hand, project effect is the outcome of a variable on target beneficiaries,  while impact  evaluation assesses changes in the well- being of individuals, households,  communities or firms. Impact evaluation is aimed at providing feedback to help improve the design of programmes and policies. It also deals with the effects of the intervention programme’s outputs on the target beneficiaries.

1.2       Problem statement

Despite   the   continued   efforts   of   the   government   and   non-governmental organizations to improve cocoa production through series of resuscitation programmes in the country, report showed that the increase in cocoa  production had not been linear. Data in Table 2 show that, between 2004/2005 and 2008/2009, only 1.94% increase was recorded  in Nigeria cocoa production.  The  total productivity  increased  from 206,000 tonnes in 2004/2005 to 214,000 tonnes in 2005/2006 but decreased to 185,000 tonnes in 2006/2007. However, an increase was noticed at the end of 2008 (from 185,000 tonnes to 200,000 tonnes) compared to the highest value recorded between 1967 and 1999 (Table 1)   before    the    commencement    of   the    resuscitation    programmes    in    Nigeria.  In spite of this, Yinka (2010) reported that, the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) had expressed dissatisfaction over the dwindling fortunes of cocoa production in the country. The council lamented that  the development had been having a negative impact on the nation’s foreign  exchange earnings  from commodity export.

2004–2005		2005–2006	2006–	2007–	04/05-08/09
Country                                     Total		Total	2007	2008	% Change
Total          Total
Total production (‘000	3,421	3,762	3,421	3,663	2.48%
tonnes ) % change	–2.1%	10.0%	–9.1%	7.1%	–
Total Africa	2,414	2,647	2,378	2,602	0.29%
% change	–3.5%	9.7%	–10.2%	9.4%
Cameroon	190	172	170	188	2.63%
Cote d’Ivoire	1,426	1,557	1,422	1,431	-12.34%
Ghana	552	660	555	730	26.81%
Nigeria	206	214	185	200	1.94%
Other Africa	39	44	46	54	69.23%
Total Asia and Oceania	569	681	635	614	11.95%
% Change	3.9%	19.6%	–6.8%	–3.3%	–
Indonesia	470	575	525	500	10.64%
Malaysia	26	27	28	32	23.08%
Other Asia	73	79	82	82	16.44%
Total America	437	434	409	447	2.52%
% Change	–1.9%	–0.8%	–5.9%	9.4%	–
Brazil	171	162	126	160	-5.26%
Ecuador	114	113	115	115	-1.75%
Other Latin America	152	160	167	172	15.79%

Source: ICCO, USDA, Reuters, LMC estimates April 2009.

From the foregoing and after 10 years of existence of the programmes,  certain production and socio-economic  impact questions become relevant. The  questions now relate to the performance  of the government  and non-governmental  programmes  and their impact on cocoa production and socio-economic  life of the  cocoa farmers in the cocoa producing states in southwestern Nigeria. (i) What are  the levels of adoption of cocoa improved  technologies  introduced  to the farmers  through the programmes?  (ii) How  do  the  beneficiaries  perceive  the  helpfulness  of  the  relevant  agencies  in  the consideration and adoption of improved cocoa technologies? (iii) What impact do these programmes have on cocoa production and  socio-economic  life of the cocoa farmers? (iv) What are the constraints  to the  adoption of improved  cocoa technologies  by the farmers?  (v)  What  are  the  problems  militating  against  effective  implementation  and acceptance of the cocoa resuscitation programmes? (vi) What are the required strategies to improve on the activities of the cocoa resuscitation programmes? and (vii) What kind of attitude do farmers have towards cocoa resuscitation  programmes? This study was therefore designed to provide answers to the questions posed above.

1.3       Purpose of the study

The purpose  of the study was to evaluate  cocoa resuscitation  programmes  in

South West Nigeria.

Specifically, the study was designed to:

1.   determine  the  adoption  levels  of  the  various  improved  cocoa  technologies introduced to cocoa farmers by the government and non governmental agencies;

2.   ascertain the beneficiaries’ perception of the helpfulness of the relevant agencies in the consideration and adoption of the improved cocoa technologies;

3.   determine  the  impact  of  the  programmes  on  cocoa  production  and   socio- economic life of the cocoa farmers;

4.   ascertain   the   perceived   constraints   to   the   adoption   of   improved   cocoa technologies by the farmers;

5.   identify the perceived  constraints to the implementation  of cocoa  resuscitation programmes;

6.   identify strategies to improve on the activities of the programmes; and

7.   determine farmers’ attitude towards cocoa resuscitation programmes

1.4       Hypotheses of the study

Hypotheses  of  the  study  were  stated  in  the  null  form.  In  any  project,  and throughout the project cycle, there is need not only for routine collection of data through monitoring or continuous assessment, but also for evaluation and assessment of impact. Previous studies (Adebiyi, 2008; Adeogun, 2008; Agbamu, 2006; Ekong, 2003; Jibowu, 1992)  have  shown  that  there  are socio-economic  and  personal  characteristics  of  the farmers that influence adoption at the individual level. These characteristics were age, farm size, income level, participation in social organization(s) and contact with extension agents among others. Thus, the following hypotheses were designed to guide this study.

(1)       There is no significant difference in the socio-economic life of the beneficiary farmers  and non-beneficiary  farmers  after the  commencement  of CRPs  in 2009;

(2)       There    is    no    significant    relationship    between    the    socio-economic characteristics  of the  beneficiary  famers  and  adoption  of  improved  cocoa technologies; and

(3)       There is no significant difference between the perceptions of the respondents on constraints to the adoption of improved cocoa technologies.

1.5       Significance of the study

An independent evaluation of the cocoa resuscitation programmes would help to objectively study comprehensively,  their experiences  and impact on cocoa  production and the target cocoa farmers as a basis for future policy formulation and project design. It is hoped  that  the findings  of this  study would  give the farmers  and  the  public,  the privilege to know more about the activities of the programmes and the impact. Besides, the major weak points in the programmes implementation would be revealed and these could be used as checks and balances by the policy makers and implementers  in  the planning, designing and execution of subsequent similar programmes in the study area or elsewhere.

It is also hoped that the findings of the study would bring to light, the relationship between  government  and  non-governmental  agencies  and  the  need  for  their  mutual cooperation, integration and coordination for effective agricultural and rural development devoid of unnecessary duplication of efforts in Nigeria. Finally, the study could serve as a base for further scholastic researches. The result will be of immense value to future researchers.   The   findings   will   be   made   available   to   the   stakeholders   through presentations  at  conferences/workshops  and  publications  in  reputable,  widely  read journals and proceedings.

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