EU Deforestation Policy Endangers Nigeria’s $770m Cocoa Industry — Farmers

Cocoa farmers in Nigeria have raised concerns about the European Union’s (EU) plans to implement its deforestation regulation plan in December 2024, warning that it could endanger the nation’s $770 million cocoa industry. In an open letter to the EU Commission, the National President of the Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria (CFAN), Comrade Adeola Adegoke, emphasized that Nigeria’s cocoa industry could be at risk if the federal government does not take urgent steps to address sustainability issues such as deforestation and traceability. He urged the EU to postpone the implementation of the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) to allow time for compliance with best practices. Adegoke assured the EU that Nigerian cocoa farmers are taking steps to comply with best practices by engaging in advocacy and capacity training focused on ecosystem protection, deforestation-free cocoa production, and the protection of laborers' and children's rights. These efforts are part of the Cocoa Farmers Roundtable Conference and other stakeholder collaborations.

CFAN also organized the first Nigerian Cocoa Summit & Award to address issues affecting the cocoa industry, including the forthcoming EUDR implementation, living income differential, national cocoa plan, inadequate local cocoa processing, value addition, consumption, and the need for a cocoa regulatory framework. The EUDR prohibits products from entering the EU market unless they are deforestation-free and legally produced. The regulation, which covers wood, palm oil, soy, coffee, cocoa, rubber, and cattle, as well as their derivatives, came into force on June 29, 2023, with an 18-month preparation period ending on December 30, 2024. In their letter to Janusz Wojciechowski, EU Commissioner for Agriculture, Nigerian cocoa farmers requested the implementation deadline be postponed to December 2025 to allow smallholder cocoa farmers better preparation. They cited a lack of adequate information on the EUDR at the farm gate level and warned of the negative impact on farmers' livelihoods if the current date is not extended.

Nigeria is a major cocoa-producing country, contributing about 6.5 percent to global cocoa production and accounting for 29 percent of total agricultural exports in 2023, valued at N1.24 trillion, with an estimated value of N356.16 billion. The farmers stressed the importance of postponing the EUDR to prevent pushing cocoa farmers into greater poverty due to non-compliance. The farmers' appeal highlights the critical need for more time to comply with the EUDR and protect Nigeria’s significant cocoa industry from potential economic harm.