By HALIMA TAKWAS

Nigeria’s Coffee Revival: Can a Forgotten Crop Become the Next Oil Alternative?

FOR decades, Nigeria’s economic ambitions have remained closely tied to crude oil. Yet beneath that familiar story lies an agricultural commodity with the potential to create jobs, generate export earnings and revitalise rural economies: coffee.

Now, policymakers, farmers, researchers and private-sector actors are attempting to revive the industry through a 10-year Nigeria Coffee Revival Initiative.

The objective is ambitious. Nigeria wants to move from a marginal coffee producer and importer of processed coffee products to a competitive producer capable of supplying domestic consumers and premium international markets.

A Once-Thriving Industry

Nigeria’s coffee industry is not new.

Commercial coffee exports date back to the late 19th century, while production expanded considerably during the 1960s and 1970s. However, the sector gradually lost momentum as agricultural policy shifted, commodity institutions weakened and specialised support for farmers declined.

The consequences have been severe.

Nigeria now spends an estimated $3.48 million annually importing processed coffee products, even as earnings from raw green coffee exports remain below $200,000 a year.

That imbalance captures the central problem facing the industry. Nigerians consume coffee, but much of the economic value associated with that consumption is created elsewhere.

The revival initiative therefore seeks to reverse the direction of that trade.

Breaking the Mono-Crop Trap

The Cocoa and Coffee Farmers Alliance Association of Africa, which recently expanded its mandate from cocoa to include coffee, argues that diversification is essential for African farmers.

Its leadership maintains that excessive dependence on one commodity leaves rural communities vulnerable whenever international prices fall.

The expansion from COFAAA to COCEFAAA reflects that concern.

The alliance wants farmers to cultivate complementary commodities while strengthening the institutions, cooperatives and markets surrounding them.

Its argument is straightforward: farmers should not have to absorb the full impact of global commodity volatility without financial and institutional protection.

Africa’s declining share of global coffee production reinforces the concern.

The continent accounted for about 27.2 per cent of global production in the 1970s. Its share has now fallen to roughly 12.5 per cent.

Although international competition contributed to the decline, industry advocates blame much of the loss on domestic policy failures, including the dismantling of commodity-support structures and inadequate investment in agricultural research.

Mambilla’s Untapped Potential

One of the most promising targets of the revival is the Mambilla Plateau in Taraba State.

At more than 1,500 metres above sea level, the plateau possesses climatic and soil conditions considered suitable for high-grade Arabica coffee.

About 150 undocumented indigenous varieties have reportedly been identified there.

That genetic diversity could become commercially significant.

Specialty coffee can command prices many times higher than ordinary commodity coffee when producers establish recognised origins, quality standards and traceable supply chains.

The proposed strategy therefore includes scientific documentation of Mambilla’s varieties, involving the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria and international partners.

Without proper documentation, industry stakeholders warn, Nigeria could lose valuable genetic resources and the commercial rights associated with them.

The long-term ambition is to build Mambilla Arabica into a recognised geographical origin, much like established specialty coffee origins in Ethiopia and Kenya.

The Farmer Cannot Wait Three Years

A promising crop, however, cannot become a successful industry if farmers cannot survive the period before harvest.

Coffee requires several years before new plantings generate meaningful income. For smallholders operating at subsistence level, that waiting period can be financially devastating.

The revival initiative therefore proposes four forms of protection: direct input support, intercropping, cooperative revolving funds and a proposed National Coffee Stabilisation Fund.

Intercropping would allow farmers to generate income while coffee trees mature.

Cooperative financing could provide working capital, while a stabilisation mechanism could offer some protection against international price shocks.

The underlying principle is that farmers must remain economically viable throughout the transition.

From Seedlings to Processing

Federal agricultural officials say the revival must begin at the farm gate.

The proposed interventions include rehabilitation of old farms, distribution of improved planting materials, disease-resistant varieties and climate-smart production methods.

However, increasing production alone will not solve Nigeria’s coffee problem.

Farmers also need processing equipment, packaging facilities, renewable-energy solutions, technical training and reliable markets.

That is why the federal government is working on a Nigeria Coffee Sector Development Policy designed to coordinate agricultural, trade and investment interventions.

Accredited aggregation and grading centres are also being considered to improve quality assurance and enable farmers to sell into formal markets.

The government is further considering trade measures that could link import incentives for processors to verifiable local sourcing.

Such a policy could encourage companies that currently depend heavily on imported coffee to develop relationships with Nigerian farmers.

The Traceability Challenge

Nigeria’s coffee ambitions are also being shaped by international environmental regulations.

The European Union Deforestation Regulation requires stronger evidence of the origin and environmental compliance of commodities entering European markets.

For Nigerian farmers, compliance could become both a challenge and an opportunity.

Digital mapping and geolocation systems can establish the precise location of farms and provide evidence needed for international buyers.

Without such systems, smallholders risk being excluded from lucrative export markets.

With them, Nigerian coffee could become more traceable, more credible and potentially more valuable.

Plateau Bets on Specialty Coffee

Plateau State has emerged as another major testing ground.

Following the International Coffee Festival held in Jos in 2025, officials have sought to convert international recognition into commercial infrastructure.

The state is planning a five-million-seedling programme covering nine coffee-producing local government areas.

It also intends to establish a dedicated coffee-processing zone around Jos South and Barkin Ladi.

The proposed zone would provide shared infrastructure, including electricity and water, while a public-private partnership framework would seek to attract processors and investors.

Plateau is also promoting a traceable coffee supply network involving smallholders.

The ultimate ambition is to establish “Jos Highlands” as a recognisable premium coffee origin.

Building Jobs Beyond the Farm

The economic opportunity does not end with cultivation.

Coffee can generate employment in processing, transportation, packaging, retailing, hospitality and professional beverage services.

Plateau State has proposed 822 coffee shops and mobile carts, with an estimated 10,000 youth jobs targeted within three years.

Young entrepreneurs would be supported through lease-to-own arrangements, while training would cover barista skills, hygiene, bookkeeping and inventory management.

Such initiatives could help transform coffee from an agricultural commodity into a broader consumer industry.

The Bigger Test

The revival plan is ambitious, but its success will depend on execution.

Nigeria has launched agricultural initiatives before. Many failed to survive beyond political cycles, funding constraints or institutional changes.

Coffee therefore needs more than seedlings and policy documents.

Farmers require reliable extension services. Processors need infrastructure. Exporters need traceability. Investors need predictable policies. Consumers need locally produced coffee that meets international standards.

Most importantly, farmers need to see tangible financial returns.

The proposed 10-year programme provides an opportunity to build that system systematically.

If successful, coffee could help Nigeria retain more value within its agricultural economy, strengthen rural livelihoods and develop a new export industry.

The country’s coffee revival is therefore not simply about bringing an old crop back to life.

It is about testing whether Nigeria can turn agricultural potential into a functioning value chain.

After decades of neglect, the real question is no longer whether Nigeria can grow coffee.

It is whether the country can build the institutions, infrastructure and markets required to make Nigerian coffee worth more than the beans leaving the farm.