 Corresponding author: Francis Adetunji Adesida; E-mail: Economics and Extension Department Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN), Idi-Ayunre, Ibadan, Nigeria. Copyright © 2021 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article. This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Liscense 4.0. Kola as an Indispensable Article of Trade in West Africa Francis Adetunji Adesida * , Kayode Akanni Oluyole, Foluso.Temitope Agulanna, Yetunde Olasimbo Oladokun, Adejoke Adebusola Adelusi, Lydia Ololade Agboola, Qudus Adebayo Ogunwolu, Ephraim Ikechukwu Ujunwa and Fatimoh Bolanle Mustopha Economics and Extension Department Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN), Idi-Ayunre, Ibadan, Nigeria. World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 2021, 12(02), 324–331 Publication history: Received on 20 September 2021; revised on 08 November 2021; accepted on 10 November 2021 Article DOI: https://doi.org/10.30574/wjarr.2021.12.2.0533 Abstract This study examines the origin of kola-nuts trade and the indispensability of kola-nut trade in West Africa. Desk research was carried out using past published literature. The study established the fact that kola nut production was indigenous to the West Africa Forest and pinpointed the actual origin of kola-nut especially Cola nitida to be along the western coast of Africa from Sierra Leone to the republic of Benin. On the other hand, the areas of Ijare and Idanre in Ondo State of Nigeria are currently believed to be the places where Cola acumunata originated. The dominant variety of kola-nut grown in Western and Eastern parts of Nigeria was cola acumunata and Cola verticillata. However, in terms of production, before the 19 th century the production of cola nitida was limited to the forests west of the Volta River in Ghana. Both linguistic and ethnographic data were used to trace the origin of kola-nut and developed a chronology with regard to the origins and trade routes for kola-nuts. The research work however established the importance of kola-nut production and trade to the economies of West Africa countries where they are produced and traded. It was however recommended that considering the indispensability of kola-nut trade to West Africa particularly Nigeria, the government should take proactive steps to increase the scope of production and trade of this crop in order to improve the livelihoods of kola-nuts farmers and traders as well as increase it contributions to the national economy. Keywords: Kola nuts; West Africa; Trade routes; Linguistic data; Ethnographic data 1. Introduction Most tree crops are perennial crops which are alive for many years and also produce their fruits several times before dying [1]. Perennial crops are esteemed or rated high for a combination of their total production and the quality of the harvested product[2].Among the perennial tree crops which contribute substantially to the economy of many nations include cocoa, kola, cashew, coffee, oil palm, mango, orange and so on. Among the tree crops listed above, kolanut is the second most important indigenous cash crop in Nigeria. In other words, kolanut is the second most valuable tree crop in Nigeria after cocoa in terms of export and foreign exchange earner. Kola tree is native to African continent and is cultivated to a large quantity with outstanding growth performance in Nigeria. Ivory Coast, Ghana, Brazil and the West Indian Islands also cultivate kolanut [3]. Nigeria produces two million metric tons of kolanut annually which represented 70% of the world’s kolanuts production [4]. According to [5], there are about 40 kola nut species dominant in West Africa while the kola species of economic importance especially in Nigeria, West and Central Africa, the Caribbean Islands, Mauritius, Sri Lanka and Malaysia are Cola acuminate and Cola nitida.