Akwa Ibom, Cross River Bolster Economy With Cocoa Trade

Akwa Ibom and Cross River State governments are beginning to harness non-oil agricultural resources to diversify the local economies, especially cocoa for export.

LEADERSHIP Weekend checks revealed that the largely civil service Akwa Ibom State depends mostly on crude oil revenues to run the economy of about 7.9 million population with no strong private sector-driven initiatives.

But the former Commissioner for Lands and Town Planning, newly reassigned to the Ministry of Industry Trade and Investment, Capt Iniobong Ekong (rtd), has vowed to change the narrative through massive investment in agricultural resources especially Cocoa, which he stated, holds the commanding ace in the global beverage market.

He regretted that though Akwa Ibom has large cocoa plantations in different locations including Ibiono Ibom, Ini, Nsit Ibom and other local government areas, the produce has remained largely unpopular because farmers’ eyes are not opened to the commercial viability of cocoa, thereby being subjected to exploration and cheating by local buyers

Speaking in an interview in Uyo, Capt Ekong said the proposal to harness the inherent export potentials of cocoa would be submitted before the State Executive Council (SEC) for consideration.

He said the proposal would be tagged, “Unlocking the Opportunities: The Role of Trade and Investment in the ARISE Agenda,” to reinvigorate the state economy through enhanced business and trade policies in non-oil exports.

In Cross River, cocoa remains one of the major contributors to the state economy as the state is still a big cocoa producer, with the bulk of the beans coming from the Ikom‑Etung‑Boki belt and Akamkpa local government areas.

Government and development partners had been pushing hard to revive the dormant Ikom cocoa processing factory, hoping it would create up to 5,000 jobs, adding value to the state’s resources.

With the new processing push and the strategic plan, Governor Bassey Otu aims to move from raw‑bean exports to higher‑value products, to increase local incomes and expand the tax base. Prices of cocoa currently hover around N3,600 and N3,700 per kilogramme in Ikom, making it competitive compared with other Nigerian states.

Speaking with our correspondent yesterday, the chairman of Cocoa Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the state and chief executive officer of Kejie Investments, Mr Pascal Bubua Kejie, said it is unfortunate that cocoa that they sold for N14,000 per kilogramme now sells for N6,500 per kilogramme.

“We have instances where our producers had been unable to meet up with renewal of farms from the cocoa landlord because yields from cocoa farms that were rented at a high cost failed to produce in commensurate with the amount paid for the farm.

“Presently, we sell a cocoa at N6,500 per kilogramme. If you multiply that by 63kg, you will have N409,500 for a bag. We sell about N6,552,000 per tonne,” he said.