The rectangular bamboo stalls are ubiquitous inIkot Ebak, a community inMkpat Enin Local Government Areaof Akwa Ibom State. It was sundown, on 9 March, and Iniobong Udoka was in one of the stalls next to the community market. The father of two sells tender coconuts and his customers are mostly motorists and commuters plying the Abak-Ikot Abasi federal highway, which runs through the community to Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
Mr Udoka slaps some of his nuts with his palms. “That’s how to identify the fresh ones,” he explains to the watching reporter.
The strategic location of the community on the highway and the high demand for the nuts have made the sale of tender coconuts a lucrative business for the locals as more people in Nigeria embrace natural drinks.
A few kilometres from the community are the state-ownedcoconut refineryand theAkwa Ibom State Universityin Ikot Akpaden, Mkpat Enin Local Government Area as well as the NigerianNaval Baseand theFederal University of Technologyin Ikot Abasi LGA. Naval personnel, staff members of these tertiary institutions and others using the road stop by to patronise the coconut vendors, fuelling a business boom and attracting new vendors into the trade.
Mr Udoka began selling tender coconuts for his elder brother over a decade ago before opening his stall. “I make up to N20,000 a day, especially in the dry season when patronage is high,” he says, adding that he has five coconut trees and plans to have more.
In the neighbouring Ibekwe Akpanya, Felicia Mbetobong is in the trade with her husband. The mother of three says they have been in the trade for over a decade. But she is alone in the stall on this day as her husband is out to get fresh supplies. The business is booming, she says.
Close by, eight members of a travelling party, including three gun-wielding police guards, are sipping coconut water by the roadside beside a black Land Cruiser SUV and a white Hilux van.
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“I always stopped here to take coconut because of its nutritional value. It’s natural, fresh and soothing, particularly under this sun,” one of them, who declines to give his name, tells PREMIUM TIMES as he hands over N5,000 to the smiling coconut vendor.
Residents growing more coconuts despite deforestation
Residents of the communities appear to have heeded a federal government advice to plant coconut to benefit from a thriving global industry. The federal government in 2021 advised coconut farmers to harness the global market for a commodity it said wasworth over $6 billion.
Then Trade and Investment Minister, Marian Katagun, described coconut as a commodity with lots of economic, medicinal and nutritional values, adding that its market for the country was huge. She said local supply meets only 20 per cent of demand, hence the need to urgently address the supply gap.
When PREMIUM TIMES visited Ikot Ebak, in the second week of March, fresh coconuts were seen arranged in clusters at different locations along the road while dry ones were arranged on bamboo tables, serving as make-shift shelves. Coconuts are cultivated in many residential compounds in the community more than any other fruits.
Coconut, (Botanical name cocos nucifera L.) is an important perennial crop adapted to a wide range of habitats. According toFood and Agricultural Organisationstatistics, the Philippines, Indonesia and India are the largest producers, accounting for 62 per cent of global output. Nigeria is 18th on the table but the position is facing a serious threat due to deforestation as the country can only meet 20 per cent of the local demand for the commodity, despite several initiatives at both federal and state levels to address the shortfall.
Researchers in 2022saidalthough global demand has increased sharply over the past years, its production has decreased as replanting effort is impeded by lack of quality seedlings.
Coconut economy
Another factor influencing the production of coconuts is deforestation, which is greatly influenced by urbanisation. Many people cut down coconut trees to build houses and for other development purposes.
Former Akwa Ibom Governor Udom Emmanuelsaidthat 80 per cent of coconuts used in Nigeria are imported and lamented that the importation cost was getting higher.
The state government built a refinery with a capacity to process 300,000 coconuts daily. The refinery also has an 11,000-hectare coconut plantation across three local government areas and holds two million coconut stands to feed the refinery. It also distributed thousands of coconut seedlings to public schools in the state, an effort aimed at ensuring the refinery is fed when operations begin.
To underscore the importance of coconuts to the state economy, the state government in 2021declared 18 September of every yearas Coconut Day in the state and also flagged off the planting of 300,000 special breeds of coconuts.
Crude coconut oil refining
With the coconut refinery yet to start operations, some vendors in Ikot Ebak, particularly women at the community market have stepped in to fill the vacuum. They are engaging in “crude” refining, which they do by grating dry coconuts and extracting the oil for sale. The price of the oil ranges from N2,000 to N10,000, depending on the volume.
Ifenyin James, a widow and mother of seven, sells coconut oil in the community. “My daughter grates the nuts and I extract the oil and sell,” she says at the market where she sells coconut oil, palm oil and other goods.
She says demand for the oil is high because it has multiple uses, including as cream and for cooking.
Coconut species
Residents of the community have several species of coconuts with varying maturity periods.
“These ones are dwarf (species). It produces fruits before its third birthday,” Mrs Mbetobong says.
Motorists passing through the community can easily notice several coconut trees in the community. Mrs Mbetobong says her husband has more than 10 coconut trees. Samuel Umoh, who owns a shop next to the market, also tells this newspaper that there are five coconut trees in his family compound.
A community leader and former secretary of the village council, Tobby Udom, says besides its economic value, coconut is highly cherished in the community.
“We use coconut to serve visitors in the community. For instance, grandchildren are welcomed with coconut before serving them food,” Mr Tobby says.
Mr Tobby, a retired civil servant, told PREMIUM TIMES he has over 10 trees in his compound.
“The challenge we are facing is not coconuts but money to buy them,” Mr Udoaka says, confirming that the commodity is abundant in the community.
Mr Udoka, who has just returned from buying coconuts, says he could have bought more if he had money. He laments that he lacks capital to invest in the business and could not meet his customers’ demand.
Vendors go to the remote parts of the communities to buy coconut for as low as N50 each and return to sell for between N150 and N200 each.
“Some days we sell over 100 coconuts. People from Rivers State also come here to buy,” Mrs Mbetobong says.
Narrating how the tender coconut business, particularly on the roadside, began in the community, William Ukoekong says he started the business in 1985. At the time he took the commodity to Ogoja in Cross River State and about three years later began selling it at the roadside in the community.
Coconut should be taken in moderation – Medical Practitioner
During the visit to the Ikot Ebak community, PREMIUM TIMES observed that most buyers consumed only the water. A vendor, Friday Akpan, says customers who take away the water in bottles use it for the treatment of drug reactions. Others, he says, use the water to mix herbal roots for the treatment of ailments
But Aniema Edet, a medical practitioner in the state, says coconut water is not recommended for treatment of drug reactions.
“The health benefits of coconut are mainly nutritional. It is high in fibre and has many essential minerals. However, coconut has a high fat content and should be taken in moderation. It is not something that is routinely recommended for any sickness. This is a myth. Treatment for drug overdose depends on the substance and time that has passed from taking the said substance and presentation at the hospital.
“Coconut water is rich in electrolytes. In remote regions where ORS salts are not available, coconut water can be used for rehydration. However, it should be used only as a stopgap until the patient can get to the hospital for proper treatment,” Ms Edet says.
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