Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria (CFAN) has disclosed that a fire outbreak has destroyed about 30 hectares of farmlands in Abia State. In a statement, the Zonal Chairman of CFAN, John Kalu, in some cases the fire was started by farmers who were setting lands ablaze which they see as a quicker and cheaper method of land preparation for the planting season. In other cases, the fire was either set off or propelled by the dry and windy harmattan weather.
The impact of this human induced arable land loss is already worsening the cocoa value chain, which is already experiencing a price surge and could result in a 4 per cent drop in supply and a loss of about 11,000 tons of the chocolate ingredient pod during the mid-crop harvest season. In total, the mid-crop harvest ranges between 280,000 tons to 300,000 tons.
Other parts of the West African sub region have felt the impact of harsh weather conditions, which has created a surge in price of the commodity.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics in the first nine months of 2023, Nigeria raked in around N157.77 billion from cocoa exports, mainly propelled by a hike in cocoa prices over the global shortfall in supply while it earned around N42.24 billion within the third quarter of the same year.
