Capacity building needs on standard practices for cocoa export among farmers in Cross River state, Nigeria

Abstract

Use of traditional farming practices is the major reason for the production of low quality cocoa beans by farmers in cocoa producing countries, including Nigeria. This study therefore identified capacity building needs on standard practices for cocoa export among farmers in Cross River State, Nigeria. A three-stage sampling technique was used to select 336 registered members of Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria in Cross River State. Data were collected through questionnaire and analyzed with both descriptive and inferential statistics including frequency counts, percentages, means, standard deviations, and weighted discrepancy score (WDS) and Pearson Product Moment Correlation. Results reveal that mean age of the farmers was 48 years while 78.6% had one form of formal education or the other. Capacity building was perceived to be mostly needed in the areas of sorting of dried beans (0.51), packaging of dried beans (0.48), and timely pod harvesting (0.39). There was a significant relationship between cocoa farmers’ farm size (r=0.137, p=0.012), income (r=0.151, p=0.006) and extension contact (r=0.121, p=0.027) and their capacity building needs on standard practices for cocoa export. The study concluded that cocoa farmers required capacity building on standard practices for cocoa export. It is therefore recommended that farmers should be trained on the identified areas of training needs in order to improve their knowledge and the quality of beans for export.