Contribution of Sustainable Cocoa Production to Poverty Reduction in Nigeria
Oluwaseun Clement Oginni
*
Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Federal University of Technology Akure, Nigeria.
Joseph Olumide Oseni
Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Federal University of Technology Akure, Nigeria.
David Olufemi Awolala
Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Federal University of Technology Akure, Nigeria.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The study examined the contribution of sustainable cocoa certification programme to poverty reduction in Nigeria. A multistage sampling procedure was used to select 360 cocoa farmers (certified and non-certified farmers) from 3 major cocoa-producing states in the country. The Alkire-Foster method of multidimensional poverty index was used along with descriptive statistics to analyze the data collected. The study revealed that the annual average cocoa income of certified farmers and non-certified farmers is ₦954,791.7 and ₦663,742.4 respectively. More than half (63%) of the cocoa farmers are multidimensionally poor and the majority (80%) of them are non-certified cocoa farmers. Therefore, policymakers should develop programme that address multidimensional poverty among cocoa farmers, such as providing access to electricity, drinking water, health care, and sanitation. In addition, more awareness should be created on cocoa certification programme to encourage more participation among cocoa farmers.
Keywords: Sustainability, cocoa, certification, development, poverty, multidimensional