Journal of Food Processing & Technology

Cocoa certification programme for sustainable productivity and food security among cocoa farmers in Ogun State, Nigeria

3^rd Global Food Security, Food Safety & Sustainability Conference

May 21-22, 2018 | New York, USA

Oyediran Wasiu Oyeleke

Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Nigeria

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Food Process Technol

Abstract:

Cocoa production is declining which has led to the introduction of various interventions among which is certification to boost cocoa productivity, quality, income and rural household food security. However, cocoa certification programme is confronting with myriads of problems. Hence, this study assessed contributions of cocoa certification programme to cocoa productivity and food security in Ogun State, Nigeria. Ninety cocoa farmers were randomly selected from five communities as sample size for this study. Data collected were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The results showed that majority (58.9%) of the respondents were above 40 years of age and belonged to Cocoa Farmers Association (CFAN). The average income generated from cocoa was 223,000 per annum. Respondents sourced information through cocoa farmers association (33.3%), fellow farmers (24.4%), local buying agent (17.7%), and radio/television (15.6%). Cocoa certification programme greatly contributed to cocoa productivity (91.1%), cocoa bean quality (85.6%), income generation (76.7%) and food and nutrition security of the respondents (51.1%). Major problems confronting cocoa production include inadequate and low quality inputs supply (91.1%), lack of buyers of certified cocoa beans (88.9%), and inadequate finance (83.3%). Results of chi-square analysis showed that a significant relationship existed between the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents and cocoa certification programme at p<0.05 level of significance. The study therefore recommends that soft loans should be made available to the cocoa farmers by financial institutions. oyediranleke@gmail.com