Coconut: stakeholders laud council for recommending massive nationwide cultivation
Stakeholders in the coconut value chain have commended the National Council of Agriculture and Rural Development (NCARD), for its recommendations and adoption of massive cultivation of coconut into states’ agricultural programmes. The President, National Coconut Producers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria (NACOPPMAN), Dr Nma Okoroji gave the commendation on Friday while reacting to the […]
Stakeholders in the coconut value chain have commended the National Council of Agriculture and Rural Development (NCARD), for its recommendations and adoption of massive cultivation of coconut into states’ agricultural programmes.
The President, National Coconut Producers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria (NACOPPMAN), Dr Nma Okoroji gave the commendation on Friday while reacting to the recommendations from the council’s 44th session.
Okoroji thanked the council for the bold step taken in making the country a major player in the coconut economy globally.
She said the recommendation and adoption of massive coconut plantation nationwide were apt, and in line with one of the programmes of the association tagged COSIN (Coconut Sufficiency in Nigeria).
Okoroji said that the objective of COSIN was to ensure that at least 10,000 hectares of coconut would be set up in each state where it could thrive.
She said the association had also adopted ‘’one family, three coconut trees’’ initiative to encourage families to cultivate the crop.
According to Okoroji, coconut provides food, oil, beverages, medicine, fibre, and a variety of raw materials for the production of an array of products of commercial importance.
He said the crop was a great foreign exchange earner to producer countries across the world.
“For example, a barrel of coconut oil is about 736 dollars as compared to fossil oil which is 49.25 dollars.
“Nigeria is presently occupying the 18th position on the list of coconut producing countries of the world with a production of 290,000MT of coconut per annum.
“Nigeria has a high potential of production in millions of metric tonnes per annum.
“Coconut can thrive very well in 26 states of the country which makes Nigeria capable of producing far greater quantity than what she is producing with proper attention.
‘’The economic and market prospect for local production can further be expounded going by the recent data obtained from the UN Office.
‘’The data shows that Nigeria spent 219,446.53 dollars and 293, 214, 22 dollars on coconut importation in 2019 and 2018 respectively.
“This is an amount higher than 186,094.58 dollars that were spent on coconut importation in 2017,” Okoroji said.
She noted that the adoption of the proposal had put coconut on the same pedestal with other crops such as cocoa and oil palm for national attention.
Okoroji urged all state chapters of NACOPPMAN to work closely with their respective state governments to ensure the vision of the COSIN was achieved within a short time.
Also, the Secretary-General of the Association of Lagos State Coconut Processors (ALSCOP), Mrs Toyin Jaiyeola, lauded the council.
Jaiyeola’s commendation was for the recommendation that the coconut value chain should be included in different Central Bank of Nigeria’s agricultural intervention funds.
She said that the recommendations would go a long way in promoting SMEs dealing in coconut to favourably compete in the market.
The General Manager of Lagos State Coconut Development Authority (LASCODA), Mr Dapo Olakulehin, said council’s decision would transform coconut from a marginal crop to the main crop in Nigeria.
Olakulehin said recognition of coconut by the council would also make it more attractive to investors and would fully unleash its economic, health and environmental potentials in Nigeria.
He urged stakeholders in the coconut value chain to take maximum advantage of the new status given to the crop.
Olakulehin advised them not to rest on their oars in the promotion of its production, processing, commercialisation and utilisation.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the council had at the end of the 44th session held from June 16 to June 18 encouraged states with comparative advantage on coconut production.
The council recognised coconut as an important Nigerian economic crop with its enormous range of uses in the continuous efforts of the Federal Government to diversify the economy from petroleum.
The primary aim of the adopted proposal is to enhance the massive cultivation of coconut nationwide to ensure a sustainable supply of raw materials to coconut-based industries.
The council noted that one of the implications of this is that very soon Nigeria would become one of the major players in the coconut economy globally.
