Farmers Warn of Crisis as Ondo Imposes ₦250,000 Levy on Cocoa Plantations

Cocoa farmers in Ondo State have called on Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to suspend and review the newly introduced ₦250,000-per-hectare levy imposed on farmers operating in the state’s forest reserves, warning that the policy could devastate livelihoods and undermine the state’s status as Nigeria’s top cocoa producer.

In an open letter released on Wednesday, the National President of the Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria (CFAN), Adeola Adegoke, said the directive had thrown thousands of farmers into distress. The policy, he explained, requires farmers to pay ₦100,000 for a five-year cultivation permit and ₦150,000 for polygon mapping, amounting to ₦250,000 per hectare.

According to the state government, the new measure aims to improve forest management, regulate land use, and ensure compliance with the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which mandates that exported agricultural products, including cocoa, be traceable and free from deforestation.

Adegoke, who also serves as the Global President of the Cocoa Farmers Alliance Association of Africa, argued that the levy threatens the survival of smallholder farmers who have sustained cocoa production for decades.

“This policy endangers the very existence of smallholder cocoa farmers who have kept the industry alive through sheer hard work,” he said. “For many of them—aged farmers, widows, and struggling youths—₦250,000 is not just a fee but an impossible burden.”

He noted that fear and uncertainty have spread among farmers since the announcement, with some abandoning their farms altogether. “Many are now questioning whether the same government that once celebrated them as contributors to the economy now sees them as outsiders in their own land,” he added.

Adegoke described the directive as “unsustainable and unjust,” arguing that it disproportionately affects small farmers while favoring large investors who enjoy long-term permits at lower rates. He warned that the policy could cripple incomes, reduce productivity, and even breed resentment toward the EUDR framework.

“Ondo State contributes about 90,000 metric tonnes of cocoa annually—nearly a third of Nigeria’s total output,” he said. “This success is not the government’s alone but the result of countless smallholder farmers who continue to persevere despite poor infrastructure, limited access to finance, climate challenges, and volatile prices.”