The following are specific questions and answers with some selected directors/ deputy directors of the institute.

– Engnr. Adegbenga Bakare, Asst. Director, Works

Q: How do you utilise engineering to meet the CRIN mandate, and what would you say about the ED?

A: The engineering works of CRIN invents, designs, and maintains equipment and machinery, which are component tools in driving the research and development mandates of the establishment. The division has a task of daily maintaining vehicles, equipment, and machines as internal provisions are made available to its technical staff to function effectively.

Dr Patrick Olú Adébola has been a dynamic leader since he was appointed to hold the helms of affairs steering CRIN forward. It is our prayer in Engineering Works that more trust is accorded to us to do our work effectively. A division that has four Chartered Engineers in its staff strength is underutilised in my view.

– Engnr. Adegbenga Bakare, Asst. Director, Works

Mr Femi Onatunde Onanuga,  HOD  Human Resource and Administration

Q: What would you say about the working environment in CRIN today?

The relationship between staff and management under Dr P.O. Adebola is highly cordial and perfect. The working environment is conducive and peaceful.

– Mr Femi Onatunde Onanuga,  HOD  Human Resource and Administration

Dr Rotimi Ipinmoroti ( Director Training)

Q: In an ever-changing world and to meet its scientific innovation objectives, how much effort is being put into building the capacity and knowledge of staff?

We train staffers across cadres for first Degrees, MSc and PhD levels. We also encourage research officers and nonresearchers to attend conferences in a unique way for all round improvement of staff understandings of the subject matter and overall productivity in tune with present-day realities in the various mandate crop value chains.

– Dr Rotimi Ipinmoroti ( Director Training)

Dr Anna Muyiwa Director, Crop Improvement

Q: How will you rate the current CRIN leadership in the area of breeding programs?

The current CRIN ED leadership can be rated 75% in the area of breeding programs. He focused on the establishment of new Cocoa seed gardens at CRIN to increase planting materials production for farmers in Nigeria.

-Dr Anna Muyiwa Director, Crop Improvement

Dr. Samuel Orisajo, Director/Leader, Cocoa Programme

Q:  How would you react to the declining rate of cocoa production in Nigeria when compared to other cocoa-producing countries? What do we need to do to increase cocoa production? 

Several factors account for the decline in Nigeria’s cocoa yield. These include the old age of trees (most farms are over 60 years old) and old age of farmers; widespread planting of traditional varieties; small farm size due to fragmentation; limited use of fertilizers; irrational use of agrochemicals (fungicides and insecticides); poor access and availability of inputs such as pesticides and fertilizers; and poor agricultural practices among farmers, which have not allowed the optimization of production figure.

To increase cocoa production in Nigeria, there is a need to produce cocoa ethically and sustainably using environmentally friendly farming techniques. It involves avoidance of sharp practices by value chain actors, and embracing Best Agricultural Practices (BAP). This refers to the use of best planting materials, proper shade management, maintaining and improving soil fertility, weed and pest control, and post-harvest management practices. Planting, replanting and investments in the production of seedlings of disease-resistant, early-maturing, improved hybrids developed by the CRIN TC hybrid series 1-8 which can produce 1500-2000 kg per hectare.

How long a cocoa farm remains productive and financially viable is determined by best maintenance practices, in particular pest and disease control. A high standard of farm management makes the trees less susceptible to disease and insect attacks. Other best practices include the use of appropriate inorganic and organic fertilizers by scientific recommendations, weed control, pruning and shading, best cocoa harvest, post-harvest, on-farm processing, storage and quality control. All are vital factors and, therefore, should be taken very seriously by the various actors in the cocoa value chain. This will ensure excellent production of exportable beans that will command premium prices in the international market.

Dr. Samuel Orisajo, Director/Leader, Cocoa Programme

Dr Kayode Oluyole Assistant Director and Head of Coffee Programme Leader

Q: What new things would you like to see in the coffee program?

Nigeria’s coffee industry is experiencing significant growth, driven by increasing urbanization and the adoption of Western lifestyles. The demand for regular instant coffee mixes is on the rise, particularly among office workers seeking convenience. The trend is expected to continue with projected growth in coffee sales attributed to increasing urbanization and a growing workforce. Research has found that coffee is good for heart health, longevity of life, cognitive function and cancer prevention.

However, for the sustainability of the above, one would like to see the following new developments in the coffee research programme.

1. Adaptation of Coffee arabica to the lowlands. This is highly important as Coffee arabica presently can only survive on the high altitude.
2. Sensitization of farmers to go into massive production of coffee beans in order to meet the high demand for coffee beans by local coffee processing companies.
3. Establishment of coffee model farms in all the geo-political zones in Nigeria. This will serve as demonstration farms and hence improve the farmers’ knowledge of coffee production.
4. Improving efficiency, quality and sustainability in coffee primary processing among coffee farmers.
5. Developing coffee varieties that are climate resilient, disease resistant, and high yielding.
6. Enhancing the flavour profile of Coffee robusta beans to make them more competitive with Coffee arabica beans.
7. Exploring the ways to reduce caffeine content without actually compromising the flavour. This is quite imperative since some consumers may react negatively to high caffeine content.
8. Determining the national coffee hectarage for proper planning and policy making.

-Dr Kayode Oluyole Assistant Director and Head of Coffee Programme Leader.

Dr Okeniyi Michael Olusayo, Assistant Director and Tea Programme Leader

Q:  What are the challenges confronting the tea program? What is the success rate?

The major problems with tea cultivation in Nigeria are:

1. Land limitations on the highland of Mambilla Plateau where there is competition for available land vis: forestry, livestock, infrastructure, food crop production
2. To ascertain land suitability for tea in the lowland locations
3. Inadequate awareness of the health benefits of tea especially in the lowland areas.
4. The upland locations of Obudu and Jos Plateau which have similar climatic requirements for tea are yet to be exploited.
5. Generating land suitability map for all lowland and highland locations.
6. Inadequate funding.

-Dr Okeniyi Michael Olusayo, Assistant Director and Tea Programme Leader

Mr Toyin Shorinolu , Assistant Director and Head of Finance and Account Directorate

Q: In the face of dwindling resources, how do you cope with the financial needs of the institute bearing in mind that research is capital intensive?

The following help us to cope with our financial needs in the face of dwindling resources:

1. Resource Prioritization: We focused funding on high-priority and high-impact research areas while postponing less critical projects.
2. Efficient Procurement: We adopt a robust and centralized procurement process to secure competitive pricing and minimize wastage.
3. Collaborative Initiatives: We are partnering with other institutions and organizations (both local and international) to share resources.
4. Diversification of Funding Sources: We actively pursue local and international grant opportunities through the great effort of the Executive Director Dr Adebola Patrick to supplement the budget.
5. Strategic Financial Planning, Budgeting and Monitoring: Establishing a rigorous budgeting framework to ensure efficient allocation and tracking of funds.

Q:   What is the internally generated revenue profile of the institute?

Our current Sources of IGR are subvention from the Federal government, farm produce, and grants from other donors for research activities. We also commercialize our research outputs and outcomes.

The Revenue Performance of the Institute increased to about 63% from the inception of our new Executive Director. We are expanding other sources, and strengthening research to develop market solutions that will attract investors and stakeholders’ engagement.

– Mr Toyin Shorinolu , Assistant Director and Head of Finance and Account Directorate.

Dr L.E. Yahaya, Director Value Addition Division

Q:  What value has been added to cocoa and coffee production by CRIN since its creation, especially in the last four and a half years?

It is a known fact that Nigeria is one of the major players in cocoa production across the globe, but the industry focused largely on exporting raw cocoa beans with little attention to value addition. Realizing this, CRIN as a research institute worked extensively on cocoa value addition and has made tremendous achievements in these areas since its inception, particularly in the last few years.  The Value Addition Research Department whose mandate is to add value to CRIN mandate crops has been able to develop products from cocoa and its by-products as well as coffee and by-products.

Amongst the products from cocoa and its by-products is cocoa wine which is a fermented product from cocoa mucilage with a low alcoholic content of about 6%. ii. Milk and dark chocolate, a delicious confectionary made from cocoa nib. iii. Cocoa bread is a delicious bread fortified with cocoa powder to enhance its nutritional quality. Iv. Choco-garri is a fermented cassava product augmented with cocoa powder to enrich its quality. V. Choco-vita is a cocoa beverage obtained from cocoa powder fortification. Vi. Cocoa snack is a well-processed snack from cocoa nibs which can be consumed as a dessert. Vii. Chocolate spread prepared from the liquor of cocoa used as a spread for bread eating. Viii. Cocoa butter fat extracted from cocoa beans is used for the preparation of cosmetics.  Among the non-food products that have been developed are soaps of various kinds such as liquid soap used for domestic and household cleaning, Abuwe soap – a soft soap used for bathing with good lathing properties, antiseptic herbal soap used for bathing to prevent bacteria and fungi infection, body and hair creams made from cocoa butter expressed from cocoa bean.  All these prototypes are ready for uptake by would-be investors.

Even though Nigeria is not a major coffee-producing country, CRIN as an institute has seized the opportunity to add value to the crop through her research effort. One major problem of coffee production is the processing technology. Wet-processed coffee commands more premium than dry-processed because wet processing helps to uphold the aroma and flavour of coffee which are very essential parameters of coffee.  Aware of this, the Department developed a wet processing machine for coffee. Additionally, coffee products such as coffee wine, coffee chocolate, and instant coffee. Coffee waste has been used as animal feed. CRIN has positively added value to cocoa and coffee in no great measure.

-Dr L.E. Yahaya, Director Value Addition Division

Dr Kayode Adejobi ( Assistant Director and Kola Programme Leader)

Q: What improvement would you recommend in the Kola programme?

The long-term aim of the CRIN is to produce improved Cola varieties that are early-bearing, high-yielding, with moderate plant size, and high in nutritional qualities.

The Institute has succeeded in the collection of choice genotypes that are expected to serve the purpose stated above. These genotypes are established in a new germplasm plot within the Institute. However, the exploration and collection process is ongoing, as the genetic base available is still narrow.

The Institute, therefore, urgently needs to explore more locations and collect more Cola genetic resources, to be added to the existing ones, characterise the existing Cola genetic resources using morphological and molecular markers, for a precise genetic description, and select superior genotypes for inclusion in the Institute’s Cola Improvement activities for the eventual development of outstanding Cola varieties for release to farmers for cultivation.

– Dr Kayode Adejobi ( Assistant Director and Kola Programme Leader)

Dr Oluyemisi Lawal (Assistant Director of Economics and Extension Division)

Q:  What is the most significant contribution of your unit to meeting the mandate of CRIN? 

The Economics and Extension division houses three sections namely the Economics, Extension and Statistics sections.

The Economics section collects data and does economic research on CRIN Mandate Crops (MCs) and the Developed Technologies (DTs); does Feasibility studies and business plans on mandate crops for partners and prospective investors of CRIN, the section also carries out field surveys, trainings on Economic aspects and consumer perception studies on MCs and DTs. The section still does market surveys on CRIN MCs which are reported monthly in the CRIN Herald Magazine.

The Extension section does mostly training for farmers to disseminate CRIN-developed technologies, coordinates the activities of the CRIN Adopted Schools and Villages where our developed technologies are practised, section also organizes the annual Farmers’ Field Day program which brings together our stakeholders to interact and exchange ideas. The Extension section also receives and coordinates training visits of students and other visitors on excursions to CRIN.

The Statistics section takes care of the data generated from research and manages

the Meteorological stations within the CRIN campus; it is from these stations that weather data of different parameters are collected daily and processed for use by staff and other users (researchers, students of all categories from all walks of life and actors along our MCs value chain) outside the institute.

The Division as an entity trains students on Industrial Attachment from different higher institutions and graduates on the mandatory National Youth Service Corp in preparation for their work-life experience.

-Dr Oluyemisi Lawal (Assistant Director of Economics and Extension Division)

Dr Taiwo Ogunjobi, HOD, Information and Documentation

Q: How does CRIN meet up with its corporate social responsibilities and CSR in its host communities across the country?

Corporate social responsibility aims to give back to society. CRIN has given back by fulfilling its mandate in that area.

Annually, CRIN distributes improved seeds and seedlings to farmers across the country. These has improved the farmers livelihoods by generating more funds for them.

CRIN also conducts training for youths and other interested members of the society.

CRIN has been involved in community projects such as road rehabilitation and,  the provision of pipe water, lights and other amenities. The Institute is involved in setting up adopted schools in villages close to the host community

Effective communication is very key in any organisation,  CRIN uses various communication channels to reach out to its host community. The following channels are used by CRIN

1. Social media platforms: WhatsApp, CRIN website(www.crin.gov.ng), Facebook,  X handle, YouTube, flicker and Instagram
2. Print Media: Annual reports, Newsletters, technical bulletin, CRIN news/herald, newspapers and Magazines.

-Dr Taiwo Ogunjobi, HOD: Information and Documentation

Dr. Oluwatosin Adeigbe, Assistant Director and Cashew Program Leader

Q: What will you classify as the landmark achievement of the cashew programme?

Cashew was incorporated into the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN) mandates in 1972, the same time the Cashew Research Program began its activities. The first achievement of the program was a collection of different cashew genetic materials and an assemblage of the same on CRIN research stations at Ibadan, Ochaja and Uhonmora; as Field Gene banks. The collections were used for improvement studies in different fields of research including breeding, agronomy, soil, pathology, entomology, economics, extension and value addition. Research activities led to the release to farmers of better-performing genotypes i.e. CRIN Cashew G-series of the 1980s, and high premium Brazilian jumbo seeds. Distributed in 2014. The cashew program has also identified some testable genotypes, which are currently undergoing further evaluation. Other research results are the identification of soil mineral requirements suitable for cashew cultivation and the development of effective fertilization regimes. Other achievements include the advancement of proven control measures for diseases, and insect pests of cashew, as well as the development of good agronomic practices for optimal cashew yield. Processing of the nut and apple for value addition in different marketable products has been achieved. Other feats were the determination of the economics of cashew production, and processing, as well as the dissemination of improved technologies to farmers, and other stakeholders across the value chain.

The program in partnership with USDA/CNFA PROcashew, has established scion gardens of exotic cashew genotypes in some cashew-producing states in Nigeria. Selection of more than 50 indigenous elite mother trees with the potential for high yield, disease resistance and high nut quality has also been made. The CRIN cashew programme in collaboration with GIZ MOVE trained over 200 cashew farmers and other stakeholders across the value chain on all stages of cashew production, processing and marketing in the year 2024. Currently, the partnership is developing a robust research plan and activities for the Nigeria cashew sector, involving all stakeholders and disciplines. A ‘Nigeria Cashew Research Document’ would be produced as a template for improvement of the Nigeria cashew sector.

-Dr. Oluwatosin Adeigbe, Assistant Director and Cashew Program Leader