To improve access to cocoa seeds, PIND and CRIN enter a bilateral agreement.

A Memorandum of Understanding between the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN) and the Foundation for Partnership Initiative in the Niger Delta (PIND) aims to improve the access of cocoa producers to high-quality seeds.

14 commercial cocoa seed entrepreneurs will be welcomed and certified in the nation as a result of the bilateral agreement.

On November 8, 2022, a certificate will be issued at the CRIN headquarters in Ibadan, Oyo State.
To improve the market system for producing high-quality seeds in the cocoa industry, PIND and CRIN signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2021.

The MOU was a component of PIND’s plans to increase Niger Delta cocoa producers’ access to enhanced seedlings as part of its access to cocoa seeds initiative. It defined a sequence of activities that will lead to the licensing or certification of skilled seed entrepreneurs who will work in partnership with CRIN to create and provide farmers with high-yielding, high-quality cocoa seedlings.

31 seed entrepreneurs took part in a training on best nursery management practices in 2021 as a result of the relationship. After the training, PIND helped 14 seed business owners start seed nurseries, producing over 100,000 seedlings that were sold to farmers all over the area.

In order to assess these nursery owners’ performance and adherence to the standards, as well as to accredit and license them as third-party seedling producers and distributors, PIND and CRIN jointly monitored and evaluated them in 2022. This enhanced the distribution network for high-quality, CRIN-certified seeds and seedlings.

With a production volume of 280,000 metric tons annually, cocoa would bring Nigeria USD 804 million in foreign cash in 2020. The average yield of cocoa farms has remained low, at 400 kg per hectare, as opposed to the over 800 kg per hectare that would be possible with improved, high-yielding under sound agricultural methods.

A number of reasons, including aging trees and farms, restricted access to high-yielding varieties, and use of primarily older forms of cocoa, among others, contribute to the low yields and productivity that farmers endure.

Eight new, enhanced cultivars called as TC 1-8 were introduced by CRIN in 2010. These genotypes have the ability to yield up to 1.5 tons/ha yearly when farmers use excellent agricultural methods.