Nigerian Youths To Lose Interest In Cocoa Farming In 10 Years

IBADAN, Nigeria (Dow Jones)--Nigerian youths will lose interest in cocoa farming in 10 years if the country's rural areas are not provided with adequate infrastructure, a cocoa expert said Tuesday.

Chris Okafor of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, or IITA, said the country's cocoa farmers are old, with average age at 58 while life expectancy in the country is 47.

"In 10 years time we may not have youths in the Nigerian cocoa economy again. We should do something about it, modern amenities must be provided in rural areas," Okafor said.

He spoke on a family succession crisis amongst cocoa farmers in Nigeria at a ceremony in honor of Erelu Olusola Obada and Kehinde Ajao, respectively former vice chairman and former secretary of the state-run National Cocoa Development Committee, or NCDC, for their contribution to cocoa development in Nigeria.

He said to retain youths in cocoa farming government must provide electricity, good roads, adequate water supply, health facilities, well-equipped educational institutions, and modern sports and entertainment facilities in the rural areas.

Nigeria is the world's fourth-largest cocoa producer after Ivory Coast, Ghana and Indonesia, with production of around 320,000 metric tons of cocoa a year.

(Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110222-712503.html)