How structural neglect weakens Nigeria’s Cocoa earnings

…Nigerian farmers losing out in $284b global cocoa market
By Cynthia Alo

Nigeria’s inability to develop a strong agricultural value chain may be denying farmers the opportunity to benefit from Cocoa and Coffee exports leaving many producers earning a fraction of revenue from the global market.

This concern was raised by the Global President of the Cocoa and Coffee Farmers Alliance Association of Africa (COCEFAAA), Comrade Adeola Adegoke, who lamented that Nigerian farmers earn far below the international prices of the products.

According to Adegoke, the huge gap between global earnings and what Nigerian farmers receive is a direct consequence of years of structural neglect, weak investments, poor value chain development and inadequate government support.

“Our farmers are being shortchanged, not because of laziness, but because of structural neglect,” he said.
Adegoke spoke during a two-day stakeholders’ meeting and the launch of a 1,000-hectare coffee production project organised by Lingzhi Global Nigeria Limited in collaboration with the Ondo State chapter of the National Coffee and Tea Association of Nigeria in Akure.

He noted that while millions of farmers across the world are building wealth through coffee production, Nigerian farmers remain largely excluded from the benefits of the booming global market.

The COCEFAAA President disclosed that the global coffee market, valued at $284.8 billion in 2025, is projected to grow to $486.2 billion by 2035, with more than two billion cups of coffee consumed globally every day.

“A minimum of 25 million farming families worldwide depend on coffee for their income, representing over 100 million people. These figures confirm that coffee is not a niche product. It is a strategic commodity with deep economic, social and geopolitical significance.

“The question before us today is straightforward: why is Nigeria, a country blessed with the soil, climate and human capital to grow premium coffee, still on the margins of this enormous market?” he asked.
Adegoke explained that Nigeria’s poor showing in the global market reflects decades of declining investment in coffee cultivation.

According to him, the country’s coffee production, which stood at about 95,000 bags in the 1960s, has declined steadily, recording an average annual reduction of 0.4 per cent since 1995. Today, according to him, Nigeria produces only 1,844 metric tonnes of unroasted coffee with average yields of just 500 kilogrammes per hectare.

The consequence, he said, is that Nigeria has virtually disappeared from the global export market.
He revealed that the country recorded zero coffee export value in the first nine months of 2024 and currently ranks as the world’s 147th largest coffee exporter, with exports valued at only $59,900.

By contrast, he noted that countries such as Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya have built thriving export industries around coffee. Ethiopia and Kenya produced between 11.1 million and 11.6 million bags and one million bags respectively in 2025, while Uganda produced 6.9 million bags, overtaking Ethiopia as Africa’s largest coffee exporter.

Adegoke warned that Nigeria is increasingly becoming a consumption market rather than a production hub.

“Nigerian coffee consumption is projected to grow at 1.2 per cent annually, reaching 145,000 bags by 2028. Nigeria’s coffee market generates $109.84 million in combined at-home and out-of-home revenue.
“What this data tells us is that Nigeria is becoming an increasingly attractive coffee market, but we are growing consumers without growing producers. We are enriching importers while our farmers earn a fraction of what their counterparts in peer African nations earn,” he stated.

He however expressed optimism that strategic interventions could reverse the trend, citing the newly launched 1,000-hectare coffee project in Ondo State as a model for agricultural industrialisation and rural economic development.

According to him, the project is expected to improve productivity, create jobs and increase farmers’ earnings through better agronomic practices and stronger market access.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, described the coffee revitalisation project as being in line with the Federal Government’s drive for food security, economic diversification and export promotion.

Represented by ministry officials, the minister said coffee remains an underutilised commodity with enormous potential for job creation, foreign exchange earnings and rural development.

According to him, the Coffee Revolution Project will help reposition Nigeria within the global coffee value chain through strategic partnerships, investments and stronger support for producers.

Also speaking, the Chief Executive Officer of Lingzhi Global Nigeria Limited, Blessing Tangtur, urged indigenous farmers to deliberately involve young people in coffee production and processing.

She stressed the need for sustainable programmes that would create awareness about the economic value of coffee and its capacity to generate employment, stimulate community development and create wealth across the value chain.

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