Cocoa farming boom in Nigeria draws thousands back from white-collar jobs

Surging cocoa prices and economic hardship are driving a new generation of Nigerians—dubbed “cocoa boys”—to abandon office work for farming.

A farm worker holds freshly harvested cocoa pods at a cocoa farm in the Ikom community of Cross River State, Nigeria, on April 24, 2025. Photo by Sodiq Adelakun/Reuters

By Anna Fadiah and Hayu Andini

In Ikom, a lush district in southeastern Nigeria renowned for its cocoa farms, the aroma of wealth now lingers in the air. The cocoa farming boom in Nigeria is transforming lives, prompting a wave of professionals—engineers, bankers, scientists, and scholars—to abandon their careers and embrace agriculture.

Anyoghe Akwa, a 47-year-old former civil engineer pursuing a PhD, is one such convert. Born and raised in Ikom, Akwa left the cocoa fields for a life in academia and construction. But everything changed in 2023, when global cocoa prices began to soar. He was stunned to learn that some 20-year-olds with no formal education were earning small fortunes from cocoa.

"We saw 20-year-olds who never attended university generating a lot of money from cocoa farming, while those of us who were aspiring for a PhD were struggling," Akwa said. He eventually returned to Ikom, inherited land from his father, secured additional plots through community ties, and began planting cacao trees.

The rewards came quickly. “Last year, I harvested four bags. I sold the first bag for 800,000 naira, and the others between 1 million and 1.2 million naira each. That’s more than I earned in a year as an engineer,” he said.

From bankers to "cocoa boys"

Akwa is not alone. A growing community of professionals has embraced the cocoa industry, earning them the local nickname “cocoa boys.” In Ikom, located in Cross River State near the Cameroon border, the shift has been dramatic. The Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria reported that over 10,000 new members joined in 2023 and 2024 alone.

Under longstanding tradition, individuals with ancestral ties to Ikom can acquire farmland through symbolic offerings—a bottle of wine, food, and about 5,000 naira. This accessibility has opened doors for many young men seeking to profit from the cocoa price surge.

Former banker Ndubuisi Nwachukwu, 48, made the leap in 2022, becoming a licensed buying agent (LBA). “The income I’ve made these few years as an LBA, if you add up all the salary I earned as a banker, it is not up to it,” he said.

Medical laboratory scientist Mark Bassey, 41, also switched careers. Though he studied science and envisioned a future in medicine, he now sees cocoa as the most viable path forward. “You can consider me to be a cocoa boy,” he said. “When you talk about cocoa now, people see you to be a 'big boy'.”

Cocoa price surge reshapes Nigeria's rural economy

The cocoa farming boom in Nigeria is closely tied to global market shifts. A sharp decline in cocoa output from Ivory Coast and Ghana—the world’s top two producers—sent prices soaring from $2,200 per metric ton in 2022 to nearly $11,000 by December 2024, according to the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO).

While Nigeria faces its worst economic crisis in over 30 years, cocoa farmers are thriving. The naira’s devaluation has made Nigerian exports more competitive, protecting cocoa growers from the financial strain that has devastated other sectors.

The cocoa economy has created ripple effects throughout rural Nigeria. The influx of money has driven up property values, stimulated demand for luxury goods, and altered local power dynamics. In Ikom, the “cocoa boys” are not only farmers—they are landlords, employers, and influencers.

Nigeria's struggle to account for production

Despite the rapid expansion of cocoa farming, Nigeria’s official output remains comparatively low. The ICCO ranks Nigeria as the world’s fourth-largest cocoa producer, with 315,000 metric tons in recent data—far behind Ivory Coast’s 2.2 million and Ghana’s 654,000.

According to Rasheed Adedeji, director of research and strategy at the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN), the numbers don’t add up. “Putting all these things together, by now we believe that Nigeria’s cocoa production level would have doubled,” he said.

One key reason for the discrepancy is smuggling. Adedeji estimates that 200,000 metric tons of cocoa are trafficked out of Nigeria annually, bypassing official channels and skewing data.

CRIN reports that over half a million requests for cocoa seedlings have been received so far this year—enough to cover 400,000 hectares, more than triple last year’s demand. New cocoa strains that produce fruit within 18 months have also contributed to rapid expansion.

A future balanced between fields and former lives

Even with the success of the cocoa farming boom in Nigeria, many of the new entrants maintain ties to their former professions. Akwa, for instance, still manages construction projects, though he increasingly sees cocoa as a viable long-term career.

“I don’t sleep because I have to keep calling them to see if they have done this or that,” he said, referring to the workers he supervises at building sites. Still, his eyes are on the future. “With what I’m seeing, it’s possible that I would switch to cocoa farming full-time.”

Others, like Bassey, plan to return to their original fields eventually but recognize the transformative power of the cocoa boom. “I know that I will still go back into my profession because of my love for it, but for now I want to focus on farming,” he said.

Smuggling, hedging, and Nigeria’s place in global cocoa

As global demand for cocoa continues to rise and weather-related disruptions in West Africa persist, the value of Nigeria’s cocoa market is only expected to grow. However, challenges like smuggling, poor infrastructure, and inconsistent government oversight threaten the sector’s full potential.

Middlemen, exporters, and growers alike are hedging their bets. While the cocoa farming boom in Nigeria has brought new prosperity to regions like Ikom, the long-term sustainability of the sector will depend on addressing smuggling, improving transparency, and formalizing the value chain.

For now, the fields of Ikom represent opportunity, dignity, and autonomy. To many Nigerians, cocoa is no longer just a crop—it is a path to economic freedom, one pod at a time.