Taraba cocoa farmers lament price drop, absence of buyers

Cocoa farmers in Taraba State have expressed concern over a sharp drop in the price of cocoa beans, saying the development has dashed their hopes of making profits this season. Four local government areas—Takum, Donga, Ussa, Kurmi and Gashaka—are actively engaged in commercial cocoa production, with Kurmi having the highest concentration of farmers. Findings by […]

Cocoa farmers in Taraba State have expressed concern over a sharp drop in the price of cocoa beans, saying the development has dashed their hopes of making profits this season.

Four local government areas—Takum, Donga, Ussa, Kurmi and Gashaka—are actively engaged in commercial cocoa production, with Kurmi having the highest concentration of farmers.

Findings by Daily Trust show that the high price of cocoa beans in recent years attracted many farmers to the crop. However, the sudden decline in prices, coupled with the absence of buyers, has left many of them stranded.

A bag of cocoa beans, which sold for between N900,000 and N1.2 million last year, dropped to about N700,000 before falling further to between N250,000 and N280,000 this year.

A cocoa farmer in Mayo-Selbe district of Gashaka Local Government Area, Mr Williams Mayo-Selbe, said the price crash came as a surprise, as farmers had anticipated another profitable season.

He said many farmers who had planned to expand their cocoa production were now discouraged by the downturn.

“We had a good price in the last few years, but the price of cocoa has dropped to about N280,000 per bag, as against N1.2 million we enjoyed previously,” he said.

He added that although Taraba has strong potential for cocoa production and has attracted interest from investors, the current situation could discourage further investment in the sector.

Another farmer in Kurmi Local Government Area, Mr Bulus James, said cocoa farmers were deeply disappointed by the crash in prices.

He noted that Kurmi has the highest number of cocoa farmers in the state, many of whom had benefited from favourable prices in previous years.

According to him, the attractive price range of N900,000 to N1.2 million per bag had drawn more people into cocoa farming, while middlemen from the South-East and South-West were the major buyers.

“We now have stockpiles of cocoa beans in our homes because there are no buyers. Our problem is that we don’t know where to take the produce for sale,” he said.

He added that beyond the price crash, the near absence of buyers remains a major challenge for farmers.

Another farmer, Adamu Saidu, said some politicians from Abuja had begun acquiring land for cocoa farming in Kurmi, but warned that the price crash and lack of buyers could discourage such investments.

Meanwhile, the Cocoa Desk Officer at the Deputy Governor’s Office in Jalingo, Mr Ebeshi Danga, attributed the situation partly to regulations by the European Union (EU), a major consumer of Nigerian cocoa.