Members of the Ile-Oluji LG wing of the Association of Women in Trade and Agriculture (AWITA) during a stakeholder engagement with the team from the dRPC and their National leadership in Ile-Oluji LG of Ondo State on Friday, 27th of June 2025
Women cocoa farmers in Ondo State have called on the federal government and subnational governments from the cocoa-producing areas of the southwest of Nigeria to create a conducive platform that would enable farmers to access the provisions provided for in the African Cocoa Agenda 2063, which aims to revolutionise cocoa farming for the benefit of Africa.
Mrs. Akinbusola Comfort Morohunmubo, AWITA Cocoa Cluster Leader at Ile-Oluji, Ondo State, disclosed this when the team from the development Research and Projects Centre (dRPC) and the Association of Women in Trade and Agriculture (AWITA) held a stakeholder engagement on the role of women cocoa farmers in the value chain of cocoa production and marketing in Nigeria.
Led by the Head of Research and Analysis of the dRPC, Mr Kareem Abdulrazak and AWITA’s National President, Mrs Ruth Agbo, the delegation described the 2 day stakeholder engagement as a platform to gain a deeper understanding of the roles women play in the cocoa value chain and to assess their environmental conservation practices in Ondo State, Nigeria.
The African Cocoa Agenda 2063 is a blueprint and master plan for transforming Africa into a global powerhouse of the future. It is the continent’s strategic framework that aims to deliver on its goal for inclusive and sustainable development and is a concrete manifestation of the pan-African drive for unity, self-determination, freedom, progress and collective prosperity pursued under Pan-Africanism and African Renaissance.
Mrs Akinbusola disclosed that women in the southwest are deeply involved in the full cycle of cocoa farming and play an essential role in sustaining both the production and the household economy, adding that women cocoa farmers face numerous challenges not only in cocoa production but also in sustaining environmentally friendly practices, rising costs of inputs, lack of access to training, and exclusion from formal support systems making it difficult to maintain traditional conservation methods.
She therefore called for government’s intervention to resolve their collective desire for training in modern cocoa farming, improved access to markets, and inclusion in policy decisions, especially around cocoa development initiatives like the African Union Cocoa Agenda 2063.
Earlier, the dRPC Research Lead, Mr Kareem Abdulrazak, informed the cocoa farmers of the benefits of the African Cocoa Agenda 2063, which affirms the commitment of African leaders to support Africa’s new path for attaining inclusive and sustainable economic growth and development. African heads of state and government signed the 50th anniversary Solemn Declaration during the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the formation of the OAU /AU in May 2013.
“This agenda is a 50-year commitment that can transform cocoa as a significant opportunity for African countries, especially women and hence our decision to continue to work with women cocoa farmers to ensure they benefit from these provisions through mobilising them as advocacy voices for inclusion in the agenda.” He said
The national president of AWITA, Mrs Ruth Agbo, had earlier commended her members nationwide for their continuous participation in economic activities that support the government’s drive towards economic growth and development. She added that AWITA will continue to partner with NGOs and other stakeholders to develop women’s businesses, especially in trade and agriculture, for the benefits of their families.
The team had earlier met with the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, F.O. Tunde Daramola, and other senior ministry staff to brief them about the engagement in mobilising women coca farmers to serve as powerful advocate voices for improved investment in the cocoa value chain and in promoting inclusive engagement, especially in driving the benefits of the African cocoa agenda 2063.
