Abstract:
In recent time, yields from cocoa producing
states have been decreasingwhile farmers are facedwith
a number of challenges that predispose them to risks and
uncertainties. The study therefore assessed the major
production and marketing risks in Ondo State, Nigeria.
The socio-economic characteristics of the cocoa farmers
were analysed using descriptive analysiswhile Kruskal–
Wallis ranking analysis was used to assess the farmer’s
perception on sources of risks. Ranking on top of the ten
identified cocoa production risks was pest and diseases
attack while undue exploitation by exporters ranked on top of marketing risks. The major coping strategies
adopted by the farmers of the cocoa include diversification
of production system by growing substitute crops
(47.5 %), and involvement in non-farm business to
generate additional income (35.0 %). In other to reduce
risks faced by the farmers, government should put in
place a marketing scheme aimed at assisting cocoa
farmers through price regulation and monitoring. Cocoa
farmers also needed to be introduced to the current
technologies of production with the provision of
necessary incentives such as improved varieties of
cocoa seedling, as well as provision of fertiliser and
approved pesticides, financial assistance, and simple
processing technologies that produce standard cocoa
beans.