The Federal Government will present Nigeria’s one-million-hectare tree crops expansion programme to European cocoa industry leaders and investors in Brussels, aiming to attract investment and strengthen market access.

The plan is outlined in a joint statement issued on Thursday in Abuja by the Agribusiness and Productivity Enhancement Project Management Office (AgPE PMO) in the Office of the Vice-President and the EU-Nigeria Agribusiness Platform (EUNAP).

The programme will be showcased at the Nigeria/West Africa Cocoa Origins-EU Industry Match-Making Forum, scheduled to take place on the sidelines of the Nigeria-Belgium-Luxembourg Business Forum.

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Kingsley Uzoma, senior special assistant to the President on Agribusiness, said Nigeria would present a structured expansion plan backed by traceability systems and measures to prevent deforestation.

“Nigeria is presenting European industry with a plan, not a promise,” he said.

Uzoma explained that the programme would ensure new tree crop plantations are planned, mapped and fully traceable from the first seedling, reinforcing Nigeria’s position as a responsible cocoa-producing country.

He noted that the presentation comes as European buyers seek reliable cocoa sources and prepare for the implementation of the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).

The initiative is designed to address buyers’ concerns about plantation locations, traceability and forest protection.

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According to him, Nigeria already has more than 350,000 cocoa-farming families cultivating over 1.4 million hectares.

The expansion programme will build on this existing base while promoting deforestation-free cultivation and complete traceability.

He said that European investors would be invited to participate through long-term offtake agreements, co-investment in processing and regional partnerships.

The AgPE PMO will engage relevant federal ministries, departments and agencies, as well as cocoa-producing states, to coordinate Nigeria’s participation in the forum.

The parties have also agreed on terms of reference for sustained collaboration covering policy engagement, mobilisation of grants and development resources, and the commercialisation of cocoa and other agricultural value chains.

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Roland Oroh, founder and director of Agribusiness Register Ltd and Project Director of EUNAP, said European industry players are looking for reliable supply, consistent quality and verifiable evidence of sustainable production.

He noted that the participation of the Senior Special Assistant to the President in the forum’s plenary session would signal high-level government commitment to the initiative.

Oroh said the forum would bring together European cocoa grinders, chocolate manufacturers and traders with vetted exporters, processors and cooperative federations from Nigeria, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire.