FG Woos European Investors For One Million Hectares Tree Crops Expansion

… as Nigeria targets European cocoa industry for long-term offtake

The federal government will seek European investment in Nigeria’s planned one-million-hectare tree crops expansion programme as it presents the initiative to cocoa industry leaders, manufacturers and investors in Brussels, Belgium.

The programme will be showcased at the Nigeria/West Africa Cocoa Origins–EU Industry Match-Making Forum, organised on the sidelines of the Nigeria–Belgium-Luxembourg Business Forum.

The announcement was contained in a joint statement issued in Abuja by the Agribusiness and Productivity Enhancement Project Management Office (AgPE PMO), in the Office of the Vice President, and the EU–Nigeria Agribusiness Platform (EUNAP), managed by Agribusiness Register Limited.

The presentation will be the first time the federal government is formally taking the programme to a European audience, with cocoa expected to account for a significant part of the proposed expansion.

The forum is organised by EUNAP under an EU Global Gateway grant, with support from the European Cocoa Association (ECA), whose members account for about 95 per cent of Europe’s cocoa grinding capacity.

The engagement comes ahead of the implementation of the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which will apply to large and medium-sized operators from December 30, 2026.

Against this backdrop, the Nigerian delegation is expected to address concerns among European buyers about the location of new cultivation areas, the traceability of farms and the measures being adopted to ensure agricultural expansion does not result in deforestation.

Nigeria currently has more than 350,000 cocoa-farming families cultivating over 1.4 million hectares, according to the statement.

The new initiative is expected to expand the country’s tree crops production base under a deforestation-free and fully traceable framework, while creating opportunities for European investors through long-term offtake agreements, co-investment in processing facilities and region-to-region partnerships.

To strengthen participation, the AgPE PMO is engaging relevant federal ministries, departments and agencies, as well as cocoa-producing states, ahead of the forum, particularly on the proposed regional partnership arrangements.

The federal government and EUNAP have also agreed on terms of reference for a standing collaboration covering policy engagement, mobilisation of grant and development financing, and the commercialisation of cocoa and other agricultural value chains.

Speaking on the partnership, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Agribusiness, Dr Kingsley Uzoma, said the programme was designed to provide investors with a clearly defined expansion framework rather than assurances without implementation plans.

He said, “Nigeria is presenting European industry with a plan, not a promise. The expansion of our tree crops will be planned, mapped and traced from the first seedling, so that every new hectare strengthens Nigeria’s standing as a responsible origin.”

Also speaking, the founder and Director of Agribusiness Register Limited and Project Director of EUNAP, Roland Oroh, said the participation of the federal government at the forum would demonstrate the country’s commitment to meeting the requirements of international buyers.

“European industry has told us plainly what it needs from origin: scale, consistency and proof. The presence of the SSAP in the plenary answers the question every European buyer asks first  whether Nigeria’s commitment reaches the highest level of government.”

The forum is expected to bring together European cocoa grinders, chocolate manufacturers and traders alongside vetted exporters, processors and cooperative federations from Nigeria, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire.