The Role of ECOWAS in Fostering Nigeria’s Cocoa Beans Value Chain

Obasaju, B.O. and Olayiwola, W.K. and Okodua, H. (2016) The Role of ECOWAS in Fostering Nigeria’s Cocoa Beans Value Chain. In: 3rd International Conference on African Development Issues (CU-ICADI 2016).

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Abstract

Despite the huge potentials of the cocoa beans value chain in Nigeria, the performance of this sector is hampered, inter alia, by low productivity which is not unconnected to low value addition along the product’s value chain. The regional platforms put in place by the Economic Community of West African States are supposed to be able to proffer solutions to some of the challenges of this sector. In economic literature, inter-linkages amongst related or same industries are important for value addition which in turn is essential for maximising income gains and improving general living standards accruing from engaging in production and trade. The New Trade Theory explicates how intra-industry/intraregional trade can give rise to the fragmentation of production processes that characterise value chains and how intra-regional trade can foster the needed value addition in a value chain. This current study is motivated by the need to assess the extent to which the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has fostered intraregional cocoa beans value chain between Nigeria and other members of ECOWAS by creating the necessary forward and backward linkages between actors in the cocoa beans value chain in Nigeria and the rest of ECOWAS. Findings from descriptive statistics seem to suggest a weak performance on the part of ECOWAS thus calling for the need for intensified regional efforts to sufficiently bolster the performance of Nigeria’s cocoa beans value chain.

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