Introduction

Cocoa beans are technically not beans or legumes, but rather the seeds of the fruit of the Theobroma cacao tree. The pod shaped fruit is botanically classified as baccate-like (berry-like) and each pod produces approximately 35-50 seeds surrounded by a sweet pulp. The fiber in cacao beans promotes healthy digestion. Getting enough fiber can help soften your bowel movements, prevent hemorrhoids and help with other digestive conditions

Uses

Cocoa beans is a key ingredient in making:

  1. Chocolate
  2. Cosmetics such as cream and soap.
  3. Powder
  4. Liquor

Production, export, import and consumption in Nigeria

Production= 340163, Import= 1 MT, Export= 216676 . (Source: FAOSTAT)

Growing Cocoa beans

Cocoa requires deep and well drained soils. Poorly drained soil affects growth of plants. Majority of area under Cocoa cultivation is on clay loam and sandy loam soil. It grows well in the pH range of 6.5 to 7.0.

Duration and Season

Developed by Professor Aikpokpodion and other scientists at the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN), the varieties start fruiting in 18 months, and first harvest of about 300 kilos per hectare is usually recorded by 30th month, while the old varieties start fruiting at four years or more. Plant cocoa trees at the beginning of the rainy season. Choose a day when the soil is moist and when the sky is cloudy. Plant the young cocoa trees when they are about 6 months old.

Sowing and harvest period

The season to harvest the cocoa beans arrives at dry period, around 6 months after the bloom and lasts from 10 to 14 days, between May and July, and then from October to March.

Main Producing States in Nigeria.

  1. Ondo (Largest producer)
  2. Cross River
  3. Ogun                                                                 
  4. Akwa Ibom
  5. Ekiti
  6. Delta
  7. Osun
  8. Oyo.

Relevant Agencies in Nigeria.

  1. CAN (Cocoa Association of Nigeria)

  2. CRIN (Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria)

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