President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday in Abuja signed the Instrument of Accession to the International Cocoa Agreement, 2010.
Malam Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, who confirmed this in a statement in Abuja, said the signing of the Agreement followed its approval by the Federal Executive Council.
According to him, with the execution of the instrument of accession, Nigeria undertakes “faithfully to abide by all the stipulations therein contained” in the Agreement. Shehu listed other benefits of the Agreement to include strengthening cooperation between exporting and importing member countries.
He said that the agreement was expected to improve their cocoa economies through active and better focused project development and strategies for capacity-building.
He said: “The 2010 Agreement is also expected to build on the successes of the 2001 Agreement by implementing measures leading to an increase in the income of cocoa farmers and by supporting cocoa producers in improving the functioning of their cocoa economies.
“It will also deliver cocoa of better quality, take effective account of food-safety issues and help establish social, economic and environmental sustainability, so that farmers are rewarded for producing cocoa that meets ethical and environmental considerations.’’
