Minister of State for Trade and Investment, Dr Samuel Ortom, has said the Federal Government will soon release N5.6m counterpart funding to boost cocoa production in the country. Ortom gave the assurance when a delegation from the International Cocoa Coordination Organisation (ICCO), led by Dr Koname Lucien, its Regional Director, paid him a visit in Abuja on Tuesday.

The minister said that cocoa was key to the economy if well managed as it contributed immensely to the economy before the discovery of oil.

“It is high time we stepped up efforts to put cocoa in its rightful place. We are taking steps toward paying our counterpart funding which is over 60 per cent, and N5.6 million will be released in the next few days.’’ Earlier, Lucien said the ICCO was working on an international project to re-enforce the capacity of cocoa producers in the West African sub-region by ensuring effective use of pesticides.

He listed the countries involved in the project as Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Ghana and Togo. According to Lucien, Nigeria is a very important member of ICCO since 1972 and also a part of previous international cocoa agreements.

“We are creating awareness among farmers and stakeholders by providing training on responsible pesticide use and to enhance institutional capacity to monitor residue.’’ He said that N3.6 million had been approved under the Common Fund for Commodities for pests control and packing for Nigerian cocoa farmers.

Lucien noted also that a price list management had been developed to let Nigerian farmers know how to manage fluctuation of cocoa prices. According to him, 1.2 million tons of cocoa per hectare are produced in Malaysia, which can be replicated in Nigeria.