FARMERS REJECT MARKETING CONTROLS

NIGERIAN cocoa farmers have urged the government to scrap all plans to re-introduce commodity marketing boards which go against the spirit of free trade. “The last semblance of commodity marketing boards in the world are being currently dismantled in Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana. We cannot afford to swim against the tide,” says the Cocoa Association of Nigeria. The re-establishment of a commodity board is being mooted by government as a way to control and ensure a higher quality of cocoa for export.