Nigeria is seeking European investment to support its planned one-million-hectare tree crops expansion programme, with cocoa positioned as a major component of the initiative and European manufacturers targeted for long-term offtake partnerships.

The Federal Government will present the programme to cocoa industry leaders, manufacturers and investors at the Nigeria/West Africa Cocoa Origins–EU Industry Match-Making Forum in Brussels, Belgium. The event will take place alongside the Nigeria–Belgium-Luxembourg Business Forum.

The announcement was made in a joint statement issued in Abuja by the Agribusiness and Productivity Enhancement Project Management Office (AgPE PMO), under the Office of the Vice President, and the EU–Nigeria Agribusiness Platform (EUNAP), managed by Agribusiness Register Limited.

The presentation will mark the first formal introduction of the programme to a European audience. The forum is being organised by EUNAP under an EU Global Gateway grant, with support from the European Cocoa Association (ECA), whose members represent approximately 95% of Europe’s cocoa grinding capacity.

The engagement comes ahead of the implementation of the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which will apply to large and medium-sized operators from December 30, 2026. Nigerian officials are expected to address European buyers’ concerns about where new cultivation will take place, how farms will be traced and what safeguards will prevent agricultural expansion from contributing to deforestation.

According to the statement, Nigeria has more than 350,000 cocoa-farming families cultivating over 1.4 million hectares. The proposed expansion is intended to increase the country’s tree crops production capacity through a deforestation-free and fully traceable framework.

The government is seeking to attract European partners through long-term offtake agreements, co-investment in processing facilities and regional partnerships. These arrangements are intended to strengthen market access while encouraging greater investment in domestic processing and agricultural value chains.

The AgPE PMO is engaging federal ministries, departments and agencies, as well as cocoa-producing states, to prepare for the forum, with particular attention to the proposed regional partnership arrangements.

The Federal Government and EUNAP have also agreed on terms of reference for an ongoing collaboration covering policy engagement, the mobilisation of grant and development financing, and the commercialisation of cocoa and other agricultural value chains.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Agribusiness, Dr Kingsley Uzoma, said the initiative was designed to give investors a clearly defined expansion framework supported by practical implementation plans.

“Nigeria is presenting European industry with a plan, not a promise. The expansion of our tree crops will be planned, mapped and traced from the first seedling, so that every new hectare strengthens Nigeria’s standing as a responsible origin,” he said.

Roland Oroh, founder and director of Agribusiness Register Limited and Project Director of EUNAP, said the Federal Government’s participation would demonstrate Nigeria’s commitment to meeting the requirements of international buyers.

He said European industry was looking for scale, consistency and verifiable proof of compliance, adding that the presence of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Agribusiness at the forum would demonstrate government-level involvement.

The forum is expected to bring together European cocoa grinders, chocolate manufacturers and traders, alongside vetted exporters, processors and cooperative federations from Nigeria, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire.

For Nigeria, the proposed expansion offers an opportunity to attract investment into tree crop production while strengthening traceability, processing capacity and long-term access to European cocoa markets.