Outlook on AGRICULTURE Vol 32, No 1, 2003, pp 43– 49 43 Environmental impacts of cocoa and rubber cultivation in Nigeria P.A. Okuneye, A.B. Aromolaran, M.T. Adetunji, T.A. Arowolo, K. Adebayo and I.A. Ayinde Abstract: The authors’ study examined the environmental impacts of cocoa and rubber cultivation on soil and water in six Nigerian states where their production is intensive. Primary data were collected by the administration of questionnaires to 180 farmers selected through a multistage random sampling process. These data were subjected to gross margin and cost–benefit analyses. Soil and water samples collected from the study locations were also subjected to chemical assays. The study found that cocoa cultivation remained an attractive economic venture at the current lending rate of 35%, but that rubber cultivation did not. It also found that nutrients and metal pollution levels were very low on cocoa and rubber farms. However, it was concluded that this result was obtained as a consequence of farmers’ low levels of use of agrochemicals. A warning was issued to the effect that attempts to make agrochemicals more available and accessible to farmers in future might portend negative environmental impacts that must be prepared for. Keywords: environment; production; rubber; cocoa; agrochemicals; pollution P.A. Okuneye, A.B. Aromolaran and I.A. Ayinde are with the Department of Agricultural Economics and Farm Management, University of Agriculture, PMB 2240, Abeokuta, Nigeria. E-mail: b_okuneye@yahoo.com. M.T. Adetunji is with the Department of Soil Science and Farm Mechanization, University of Agriculture, Abeokuta. T.A. Arowolo is with the Department of Environmental Management and Toxicology, University of Agriculture, Abeokuta. K. Adebayo is with the Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development, University of Agriculture, Abeokuta. The issue of environmental management has assumed a worldwide dimension cutting across developed and developing nations (Okuneye and Adebayo, 1999). This was necessitated by the impacts generated by diverse social and economic activities including the cultivation of tree crops. Developing nations are the worst hit by environmental degradation arising from the exploitation of their natural resources in the quest for higher earn- ings for all stakeholders. Agriculture has been a major component of Nigeria’s non-oil sector, contributing on average 81% in 1961–64, 56% in 1983–85, 65% in 1986–88 and 72% in 1992–94 (Okuneye, 1995). The value of agricultural exports increased by about 1,500% from only N193.6 million 1 in 1985 to an annual average of N2.275 billion in 1992. Cocoa, rubber, fish and shrimps, forestry products and cotton are the main agricultural commodities boosting Nigeria’s agricultural exports. Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) data show that cocoa and rubber alone constitute 74% of the total agricultural exports in Nigeria (CBN, 1998). The permanent nature of these crops implies that they occupy large areas of land and have been exploited over periods in excess of 30 years. During this period, varying levels of fertilizers, herbicides and other pesticides have been used and have had a marked effect on the soil and water in the vicinity of the farms. There is a need to control pollution of soil and surface water resources because public health and well-being have direct links with the availability of productive soils and good quality water. This study, therefore, examined the environmental impacts of the use of agrochemicals on cocoa and rubber cultivation in Nigeria. Specifically, the study: (i) highlighted the socioeco- nomic profile of cocoa and rubber farmers in Nigeria; (ii) estimated the level and efficiency of resource use on cocoa and rubber farms over key policy regimes; and (iii) determined the influence of cocoa and rubber cultivation on soil and water pollution in the country.