72 International Journal of Applied Geospatial Research, 3(1), 72-86, January-March 2012

A Multi-Criteria GIS Site

Selection for Sustainable Cocoa
Development in West Africa:
A Case Study of Nigeria
Tunrayo Alabi, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Nigeria
Kai Sonde, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, Mexico
Olusoji Oduwole, Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, Nigeria
Christopher Okafor, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Nigeria

Abstract
Cocoa occupies 6 million hectares in humid coastal West Africa where 70% of the world supply is grown, 90%
of which is produced on 2 million family farms of 2 hectares or less. Here, at least 16 million people depend on
cocoa but earn only $100/person/year from the crop. There is need to optimize the farming system, minimize the
environmental impact of technologies, and improve socio-economic dynamics. This study identifies areas with
potential for intensified cocoa farming and where maximum impact to household income could be achieved
without deforestation. The selection involves defining suitability criteria, preparing an inventory of available
data, determining suitability based on identified criteria, and combining suitability into hierarchical prefer-
ences based on weights proposed by local experts. GIS and Multi-Criteria land Evaluation technique using
biophysical, socioeconomic, and demographic variables were employed in selection. Nineteen administrative
units were selected in Nigeria where the intervention project could be implemented.

Keywords: Cocoa, GIS, Land Suitability, Multi-Criteria, Nigeria, Sustainable Development

INTRODUCTION 5 and 6 million ha in the coastal humid zone.

Cocoa (Theobroma cacao) is one of the most
important perennial crops worldwide, with an
estimated world production of 2.8 million tonnes
(t) in 2002 (Food and Agriculture Organization
[FAO], 2003). It is especially a most significant
crop in West Africa where it occupies between
DOI: 10.4018/jagr.2012010107
Nearly 70% of the world cocoa supply is
produced in West Africa (International Cocoa
Organization [ICCO], 2010), 90% of which is
grown on nearly 2 million small family farms,
the majority with land holdings of 2 ha or less.
It is estimated that at least 16 million people
depend on cocoa for the majority of their cash
income (International Institute of Tropical
Agriculture [IITA], 2005a).

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 International Journal of Applied Geospatial Research, 3(1), 72-86, January-March 2012 73
The average cocoa farming family in
West Africa earns US$100 per person per year
from cocoa (IITA, 2002; ICCO, 2007). The
long-term social and economic well-being of
these families and their communities depends
upon the viability and sustainability of the West
African cocoa sector. The sector is also vital
to national economies with cocoa among the
top three agricultural export products in each
target country (Bastide & Perret, 2007). To
ensure this, cocoa farming needs to become a
profitable, income-generating profession that
allows farmers, both women and men, to provide
adequately for their families.
West African cocoa farmers face numerous
challenges such as production and marketing
inefficiencies as well as stagnant technologi-
cal development. For instance, the majority of
farmers sell their cocoa individually, a few bags
at a time, to itinerant buyers without access to
market information and this reduces their earn-
ings relative to the market price.
In Nigeria, like the rest of West Africa,
cocoa cultivation has witnessed significant
changes in the last few decades due to factors
such as variations in international demand,
prices, and policy measures implemented by
both the Federal and State governments (Cocoa
Research Institute of Nigeria [CRIN], 2008).
Cocoa was the most important agricultural ex-
port crop during the 1960-1970 period, earning
a significant percentage of the foreign exchange
income (Mustapha, 1999). The production in-
creased gradually to a maximum of 308,000 t in
1970-1971 but dropped drastically to 110,000 t
in 1990-1991. This was because of the diversion
of government policy during the First, Second
and Third Development plan periods (1970-
1985) into petroleum and food production, and
the poor price policy of the Marketing Board
which resulted in the abandonment of cocoa
farms (Mustapha, 1999).
In view of the undulating nature of the
cocoa sector as a result of factors such as socio-
economics, government policies, management
practices, and declining natural resources (Bas-
tide & Perret, 2007), it is necessary to seek a
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viable and sustainable cocoa production system
in West Africa.
It is therefore important to carefully target
the program’s intervention in the cocoa sector
of the West and Central African countries to en-
sure maximum program impact and conformity
with national agricultural sector priorities. This
will include the identification and selection of
communities through systematic spatial target-
ing that meets multiple criteria. World Cocoa
Foundation (WCF) has asked IITA Sustainable
Tree Crop Program (STCP) to lead the process
of site selection, building on its recent experi-
ence in conducting a similar multi-criteria and
multi-stage systematic selection of target dis-
tricts/communities for a multi-sectoral project
in Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana in collaboration
with local expertise.
In view of the complexity involved in the
process of decision making, the method of
multi-criteria land evaluation (MCE) is adopted
in this study (Khoi & Murayama, 2010). MCE
is the process of determining the fitness of a
given parcel of land for a defined use (Stainer,
1991). An MCE involves the selection of the
biophysical or socio-economic factors, or both,
of an area; the combination of the selected
factors with the decision-makers preferences
allows one to create a composite suitability
index (Sui, 1993). The MCE is an effective
tool for multiple criteria decision-making issues
(Malcewski, 2006). The purpose of the MCE is
to investigate a number of choice possibilities
in the light of multiple criteria and multiple ob-
jectives (Cover, 1991). Integration of the MCE
and GIS (GIS-MCE) can help land-use planners
and managers to improve decision-making
processes (Malcewski, 1999). GIS allows the
computation of assessment factors and MCE
aggregates them into a land suitability index.
This paper aims to identify potential land
suitability for cocoa, based not only on biophysi-
cal but also socioeconomic and infrastructural
variables in accordance with the framework for
land evaluation developed by the Food Agricul-
ture Organization of the United Nations (FAO,
1976) using GIS, a decision support system
74 International Journal of Applied Geospatial Research, 3(1), 72-86, January-March 2012
involving the integration of spatially refer-
enced data in a problem solving environment
(Cowen,1988), and to simultaneously examine
major socio-economic factors influencing co-
coa farming with respect to enabling optimum
cropping for maximizing productivity while
reducing environmental impacts.
Methodology
The Study Area
The study area comprises the cocoa growing
region of Nigeria, consisting of the South West,
South East, and South-South geopolitical zones.
Specifically it consists of the 14 cocoa growing
States (Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Cross
River, Delta, Edo, Ekiti, Osun, Ondo, Oyo,
Ogun, Kwara, Kogi, and Taraba).
The cocoa growing area in Nigeria lies
mainly below latitude 8 °N within the lowland
rain forest and forest transition ecological zones
(Figure 1). Total annual rainfall of the cocoa
growing areas of Nigeria ranges from 1200 mm
to 3000 mm. The mean minimum temperature is
between 20 °C and 22 °C; the mean maximum
during the dry season varies from 31 °C to 32
°C and in the wet season from 27 °C to 29 °C
(Wood & Lass, 1987).
The elevation of the study area ranges from
50 to 2000 m above sea level. More than 50%
of the area falls within elevation range between
200 and 400 m while about 10% of the areas
have high elevation of above 800 m. The regions
of high elevation occur at the extreme eastern
part of the study area at the border between
Cameroon and Nigeria.
Most of the study area has a high population
density generally above 200 persons/km². Mean
population density of 185 person/km² in the
study area is greater than the national average
of about 153 persons/km². About 46 million of
the national population of 140 million reside
within the 14 cocoa growing States (National
Population Commission [NPC], 2007)
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Input Data and Data Sources
The input data used for this study were based
on the selected evaluation factors discussed in
the next part. They include a gridded rainfall,
temperature, relative humidity map, vector soil
map, road network map, and cocoa production
and other relevant socioeconomic data (Table
1). The climate grid surface data were obtained
from Worldclim - Global climate data, database
documented in Hijmans, Cameron, Parra, Jones,
and Jarvis (2005) at resolution of 30 arc seconds
(approximately 1 km) (http://www.worldclim.
org/). Relative Humidity data were obtained
from Climatic Research Unit (CRU) of the
University of East Anglia, UK as described
by New, Lister, Hulme, and Makin (2000).
Protected area data and digital elevation model
(DEM) were extracted for the study area from
global databases (SRTM, 2000). Soil depth, soil
organic matter, and soil pH factor maps were
extracted from the digital soil map of the world
(FAO, 1974). Road density, an indication of
the infrastructural development of the region,
was extracted from the road network data by
computing the total length of road (km) divided
by area (km²) in each local government area
(LGA). The resolution of all raster factor maps
was set at 1 km × 1 km. These data were used
for delineating areas suitable for sustainable
cocoa production.
Cocoa Multi-Criteria Land
Evaluation
The GIS Multi-criteria procedure for the cocoa
cultivation suitability assessment in the cocoa
growing region included several stages that
are framed in Figure 2. The determination of
the relevant factors was the starting step in the
assessment and was followed by standardizing
the factors, weighting the factors, combining the
factors with their weights, and finally reclas-
sifying the suitability into three levels of low,
medium, and high. The procedures and algo-
rithms available in ArcGIS 9.3 (Environmental
 International Journal of Applied Geospatial Research, 3(1), 72-86, January-March 2012 75

Figure 1. The study area showing ecological zones and protected area of the Cocoa Growing
Region of Nigeria

System Research Institute [ESRI], 2008) were Suitability Assessment

employed to implement the assessment.
Initially, the factors were selected based
on their relevance to suitability in sustainable
cocoa production and the availability of data-
bases. The selection of factors is a technical
process that is based on expert knowledge or
empirical research. This was done at a meeting
of stakeholders comprising cocoa industry
partners, government representatives, cocoa
scientists, and other experts. They participated
in selecting the factors, identifying the suitable
ranges of the factors, and evaluating the weights
of the factors. Furthermore, from this meeting,
the criteria to be used were grouped into four
thematic areas based on the four specific objec-
tives of the project. The procedures for cocoa
land suitability assessment based on the four
objectives are described below.
Based on National Cocoa
Development Prioritization
and Industry Investments
To identify areas that have been defined by
national policy as priority for cocoa produc-
tion and where cocoa industry partners are
investing or have invested in production and
marketing, the number of Farmer Field schools
(FFS) established in each cocoa growing State
of Nigeria was used as an indicator for govern-
ment investment priorities. The FFS efforts of
the States are a reflection of their response to
the cocoa development agenda of the National
Cocoa Development Committee. The program
is a partnership program involving the State
governments and the Federal Ministry of Agri-
culture and the various cocoa associations. Data

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76 International Journal of Applied Geospatial Research, 3(1), 72-86, January-March 2012

Table 1. Databases used in this research

Factor Suitable Range Data Source

Rainfall (mm) 1500-3000 http://www.worldclim.org/
Minimum temperature (°C) 18-21 http://www.worldclim.org/
Maximum temperature (°C) 29-32 http://www.worldclim.org/
Relative humidity (%) 70-100 CRU http://www.cru.uea.ac.uk
Elevation (m) 0-300 SRTM, 2000
Organic carbon (%) >2 FAO, 1974
Soil depth (cm) >150 FAO, 1974
Soil pH 5.5-6.5 FAO, 1974
Cocoa production (t) 500 – 30,000 CRIN, 2008
Food crop farm size (ha) 5 - 10 CRIN, 2008
Cocoa farm gate price (Naira/bag) 7500 - 9000 CRIN, 2008
Population density (persons/km²) 50 - 500 NPC, 2007
Road density (km/km²) 0.10 - 0.5 Geospatial Laboratory, IITA
Farmer organization (%) 40-100 CRIN, 2008
Government support 10 - 40 IITA, 2008
(No. Farmer Field Schools in the State)
Protected area World Protected area http://www.
wdpa.org/

on the number of FFS for the cocoa growing
region of Nigeria were obtained from IITA,
2008 and a simple attribute query operation was
performed in GIS to select States that had at
least ten FFS. According to the weight assigned
to this factor, all States that met this condition
were included and those that failed to meet this
were excluded from further analysis (Nath et
al., 2000; Son & Shrestha, 2008).
Cocoa Suitability Assessment
Based on Biophysical Factors
Climate plays a fundamental role generally
in agriculture and in cocoa production. The
quantity and quality of yields can be affected by
water stress and heat stress (Kassam, Velthuizen
Van, Fischer, & Shah, 1991). The limitation
condition method of land evaluation described
by Sys, Ranst, and Debaveye (1991a, 1991b) as
described by various researchers, such as Maes,
Vereecken, and Darius (1987) and Rodriguez
(1995) was used for rating the biophysical land
suitability classes which implies that all rating
below a given threshold was considered limiting
the overall suitability of such area.
Binary reclassification method was applied
to each climatic layer. All pixels that met the
suitable range of rainfall (1500-3000) mm,
minimum temperature (18-21°C), maximum
temperature (29-32°C), and relative humid-
ity (70-100%) were given codes of 1 and
those outside those ranges were coded 0. The
resulting intermediate layers were combined
in a weighted algebraic operation with higher
weights of 55% given to rainfall and the other
climatic factors had weights of 15% assigned
to them (Zuidema et al., 2005). This resulted in
a climatic suitability map (Figure 2). A similar
procedure was applied to soil conditions as
specified in Table 1 and the map of soil suitabil-
ity was obtained. The combination of climatic
and soil suitability resulted in biophysical land
suitability (Figure 2).

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 International Journal of Applied Geospatial Research, 3(1), 72-86, January-March 2012 77

Figure 2. Flow chart of cocoa land suitability assessment

Bowen and Hollinger (2004) reported that
precipitation and temperature follow the “law
of the minimum”. This means if a variable is
limiting, the species cannot be grown, even if
all the other variables are not limiting (Holz-
kämper, Calancaa, & Fuhrer, 2010). Hence all
areas that did not fall within the suitable zones
of biophysical factors were excluded from the
next step of evaluation.
Cocoa Suitability Assessment Based
on Socio-Economic Environment
The third set objective is to identify an area
that has the potential for impact on cocoa
household income. To evaluate land based on
this, we needed the following socioeconomic
parameters; cocoa production, cocoa farm gate
price, and food crop farm size. Cocoa production

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78 International Journal of Applied Geospatial Research, 3(1), 72-86, January-March 2012
data in cocoa growing LGAs is the quantity (t)
of cocoa purchased in the main cocoa season
of the year 2005. This was chosen to reflect the
current status of cocoa production and also to
give an indication of the gap between the current
and potential production levels. The production
data were obtained from CRIN (2008). Higher
production areas are of high priority in the selec-
tion process, hence suitable LGAs must have
an annual production of at least 500 t (Table 1).
Average food crop farm size is another
item of socio-economic data employed in the
decision- making process. It is an indication of
high potential for household food security in the
cash crop economy and a measure of sustainable
development in cocoa growing areas. LGAs
with high food crop farm size are considered
suitable in the selection process and so a cutoff
point of at least 5 ha was set for inclusion in
the suitability zones.
In addition, data on farm gate prices
measured in price per bag of cocoa were also
included in socio-economic environmental
considerations for sustainable cocoa production.
Areas where prices are low suggests poor mar-
keting infrastructure while high prices are good
indicators of profitability of cocoa farming in the
area. These data were obtained on LGA levels
from CRIN, (2008). Based on cocoa experts’
opinion, areas with low prices are the priority
for project intervention in this study; hence the
cutoff point for this was set at a maximum of
N9000 per bag in the LGA (Table 1).
All these socio-economic layers were
combined in simple algebraic operations after
suitable ranges had been ranked and resulted in
the socio-economic suitability layer (Figure 2).
Cocoa Suitability Assessment
Based on Demographic and
Infrastructural Project Environment
The population density is the number of persons/
km² and this was obtained from the Nigerian
Population census of 2006 (NPC, 2007). At
the stakeholders’ meeting, it was agreed that
an area with a very low population density
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implied a sparse population of farmers limit-
ing the number of farmers that can be reached
through the project. An area with a very high
population density, on the other hand, becomes
a constraint on land availability for cocoa farm
land expansion. Hence only cocoa farming areas
where population densities are between 50 and
500 persons/km² fall within suitable ranges in
the selection process.
Road development and access to infra-
structure was another factor considered in the
selection process. Road density in each LGA
was used as a proxy for access to infrastruc-
ture and this was derived from both paved and
unpaved roads. Road density is defined as the
total length of road network per unit area (km/
km2). Digitized road data were obtained from
the GIS database of the Geospatial Laboratory,
IITA. Areas with a road density from 0.10 to
0.50 were considered useful in the selection
process because places with higher values cor-
respond with a very high population density and
lower values correspond with water bodies or
forest reserves and are classified as unsuitable
for the project.
The percentage of cocoa farmers registered
in farmers’ organizations was also used in the
selection. Farmers who belong to registered
farmers’ organizations have access to input,
credit, and warehousing. One of the project’s
objectives is to identify areas with the potential
to enhance program efficiency. LGAs that have
at least 40% of their farmers registered in a
farmers’ organization were considered suitable
in the study.
Spatial overlay of the criteria layers was
performed in iterative multi-stage procedures
(Figure 2). All biophysical criteria layers were
combined in additive raster overlay while
similar procedures were employed for socio-
economic and demographic factors. All the
intermediate outputs were then combined to
give the final priority area. A protected area
layer was used to exclude all of the suitable
area that belongs to a national park, forest or
game reserve.
 International Journal of Applied Geospatial Research, 3(1), 72-86, January-March 2012 79
Discussion
Figure 3a presents the result of cocoa suitability
assessment based on government policy and
investment drives. Government policy has been
one major factor that has influenced the cocoa sec-
tor in Nigeria (Coleman, Akiyama, & Varangis,
1993) and so it is selected as one of the limiting
criteria for the cocoa intervention project. From
the figure, only five States out of the 14 cocoa
producing States were qualified to participate in
the project because of good government drives
to educate the cocoa farmers in order to revamp
the sector. Nigeria as a developing country was
rated the second largest world producer of cocoa
in the 1960s (Adegbola & Abe, 1983), and, for a
long time, the crop has been generating substan-
tial foreign exchange earnings for the country.
However, the production of this important cash
crop for export has suffered a reduction in recent
years in the country owing to a number of factors,
such as government policy, low yield, ageing of
cocoa farms, and farm size (Folayan, Daramola,
& Oguntade, 2006; Oduwole, 2004). Moreover
Oluyole and Sanusi (2009) reported that the
educational level of farmers is one other major
factor that has influenced cocoa production in
Nigeria, implying that strong government sup-
port is necessary if cocoa production is to thrive
again. The FFS is a new approach pioneered by
the Sustainable Tree Crops Program (STCP)
for efficient technology dissemination whereby
farmers are trained in integrated crop and post-
harvest management practices. The success of
FFS has been found to result in raising farmer
incomes, increasing productivity, and reducing
dependency on costly agrochemicals as well as
in improving cocoa quality (IITA, 2005b). It is
therefore imperative that government investment
in FFS plays a crucial role in selecting project
implementation communities. Among the five
States that are suitable according to government
support criteria, the three top cocoa production
States of Ondo, Cross River, and Osun were
selected. The remaining two States of Edo and
Abia, even though they are not in the high produc-
ing States, are both enjoying good government
support (IITA, 2008).
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The result of combining all biophysical
factors, soil, elevation, and climate is shown in
Figure 3b. It is clear from Table 2 that about
70% of the study area is suitable with 19% in
the category of moderately suitable and 50%
in the high suitability class. This result also
suggests that there are more areas where cocoa
could be grown than where it is currently being
grown in Nigeria. All the areas that fall within
moderate-to-high land suitability are potential
areas where cocoa production could be explored.
The major proportion of Anambra, Imo, Enugu,
Rivers, and Benue States (Figure 3b) could
serve as an expansion zone for cocoa production
in Nigeria. Even though these States are not
included in the cocoa producing States due to
low production levels, they have good potentials
for the expansion of cocoa cultivation in Nige-
ria (CRIN, 2008). Low adoption and production
of cocoa in these States are due not only to
biophysical constraints but also to some socio-
cultural issues, as has been observed by Man-
yong et al. (2004).
The result of cocoa land evaluation based
on socio-economic factors, such as cocoa pro-
duction level, cocoa farm gate prices, and food
crop farm size, is presented in Figure 3c. Areas
that fall within the low suitability class are about
31% of the study area while only 4.6% belong
to the high suitability category (Table 2). This
result contrasts with the suitability obtained for
biophysical criteria where a larger percentage
of the total area was found to be highly suitable
(Figure 3b). Moreover it is evident from Figure
3c that high suitability classes occurred only in
Ondo and Cross River States while moder-
ately suitable areas were found in Ogun, Ekiti,
Edo, and Kogi States. By socio-economic
constraints, Osun which is the third in the rank
of high cocoa producing States after Ondo and
Cross River had low suitability and unsuitable
categories. This observation suggests socio-
economic factors, such as farm gate price and
food crop farm size, are limiting factors in
selecting intervention sites for cocoa sustainable
projects. It therefore follows, as observed by
Son and Shrestha (2008) that, when interven-
tions are being formulated to improve farmers’
80 International Journal of Applied Geospatial Research, 3(1), 72-86, January-March 2012

Figure 3. (a) Cocoa growing States showing government support as indicated by number of
Farmer Field Schools; (b) cocoa land suitability; (c) cocoa suitability based on socio-economic
factors; (d) cocoa suitability based on demographic and infrastructural factors

Table 2. Percentage suitability in each category for all factors

Factor High Suitability Moderate Low Suitability Unsuitable

Suitability
Land Suitability 50.26 18.69 22.85 8.20
Socio-Economic 4.62 15.09 30.47 49.82
Suitability
Demography & 10.01 31.08 21.09 37.82
Infrastructure
All Factors 3.43 5.64 3.32 87.62

income and preserve land resources, an adequate
understanding of the socio-economic context
of production is important to accommodate the
real needs of land users.
The result of cocoa land assessment based
on demographic and infrastructural constraints
is presented in Figure 3d and Table 2. Based on
these factors, highly suitable areas (10%, Table
2) occurred in six cocoa growing States, Oyo,
Osun, Ogun, Kogi, Kwara, and Ekiti. The pro-
portion of moderately suitable land was much
larger at about 30% (Table 2) and was found in
almost all the 14 cocoa growing States except
Taraba and Adamawa. The higher suitability
observed in the southwestern part of Nigeria
is probably influenced by the higher level of
farmers’ organization in this region where well
organized cocoa farmers have been reported

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 International Journal of Applied Geospatial Research, 3(1), 72-86, January-March 2012 81
(Oduwole, 2004; Oluyole & Sanusi, 2009).
Membership of farmers’ associations is crucial
as it has been found to improve the adoption of
new technologies and to raise farmers’ income
(Agbeniyi, Ogunlade & Oluyole, 2010)
The final selected area based on all factors
is shown in Figure 4 and reveals that five States
have suitable sites. This is due to the limiting
priority condition of government support (Fig-
ure 3a). Furthermore areas that were suitable
based on other factors such as land and socio-
economic variables have also been excluded
where they fall within a protected area. Hence
it is not surprising that the highly suitable area
was only 3.4% while the moderately suitable
places were only about 6% (Table 2). More than
87% of the study area was not suitable for this
project’s intervention sites.
Table 3 lists the selected LGAs and it shows
that 19 LGAs were selected, three of which
belong to the high suitability category while
seven were in the moderately suitable area. Nine
LGAs were found in the low suitability catego-
ry. A total area of about 20,000 km² was se-
lected. High suitability LGAs were distributed
evenly among the three top high-producing States
of Ondo, Cross River, and Osun. Moderately
suitable areas can be found in all the selected
States except in Abia where the only selected
area was in the low suitability category.
Conclusion and
Recommendation
Though the GIS-MCE approach provides an
effective framework for land evaluation, the
selection of assessment factors and the iden-
tification of a suitable range for each factor
have a direct influence on the results. In this
study, the factors were selected based on the
experts’ opinion; therefore they represent a
considerable share of the factors relevant to the
suitability of cocoa growing areas in the region.
For instance, the inclusion of the government
priority and investment variable has a strong
influence on the States selected for the project’s
intervention sites.
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It can also be concluded that the integra-
tion of spatial databases and expert knowledge
significantly enhances the decision-making
capacity when land suitability evaluation is un-
dertaken. Moreover, the approach highlights the
participatory decision-making process (East-
man, Jin, Kyem, & Toledano, 1992). Therefore,
it helps to minimize and solve conflicts among
competing interests in the area of cocoa land-
use management.
The GIS-MCE approach has been widely
applied in land suitability analysis (Malcewski,
2006), however, the application of the method in
cocoa sustainable land management is relatively
new in Nigeria. The MCE of soil, topography,
and socioeconomic factors was exemplified
to be useful for delineating areas suitable for
cocoa production in the region. In particular,
the involvement of local experts was vital to
obtaining consistent results. The experts played
key roles in the selection of the evaluation
factors and in the determination of the factor
weights. The application of this paper can be
useful for the managers and planners of cocoa
sustainable projects.
The study shows that GIS databases of
different formats and sources can be efficiently
integrated to establish a land suitability assess-
ment for cocoa production. The methodology
is useful for identifying priority areas for cocoa
farming, and thus it contributes to improving
the efficiency of conservation and of sustainable
land management.
The land suitability information produced
in the recent research is valuable. However, the
socio-economic information was based on a
single survey carried out by the Cocoa Research
Institute of Nigeria in 2005 which has its limi-
tations. More comprehensive socio-economic
factors and other infrastructural variables could
be used to enhance the accuracy of the results
obtained. Therefore, we recommend that fu-
ture studies should consider broader and more
detailed socio-economic information to offer
decision-makers a comprehensive basis for a
feasible strategy, and sound decisions about
more sustainable cocoa production in Nigeria.
82 International Journal of Applied Geospatial Research, 3(1), 72-86, January-March 2012

Figure 4. The study area showing cocoa suitability based on all biophysical, socio-economic,
and demographic factors, including government support

Table 3. Selected Local Government Area (LGA) for cocoa sustainable project

Suitability Area Suitability Area

State LGA Class (km²) State LGA Class (km²)
Cross
River Obudu Moderate 371 Abia Bende Low 591
Cross
Edo Owan East Moderate 959 River Ogoja Low 977
Cross
Ondo Odigbo Moderate 2193 River Obanliku Low 936
Cross
Osun Irewole Moderate 310 River Etung Low 869
Osun Aiyedaade Moderate 1017 Edo Owan West Low 672
Atakumosa
Osun West Moderate 868 Edo Etsako West Low 1637
Osun Oriade Moderate 257 Ondo Akure North Low 669
Cross
River Boki High 4868 Osun Atakumosa East Low 385
Ondo Idanre High 1880 Osun Boluwaduro Low 145
Osun Obokun High 474
Total Area 20,079 (km²)

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 International Journal of Applied Geospatial Research, 3(1), 72-86, January-March 2012 83
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 International Journal of Applied Geospatial Research, 3(1), 72-86, January-March 2012 85

Tunrayo Alabi obtained a BS in Electrical/Electronic Engineering with First Class (Honours)

from the Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Ibadan, Nigeria (1989) and an MS
in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in the Department of Geography of the same Univer-
sity (1999). He was trained at Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) in the United
States of America Redlands, California in the application of GIS in the year 2004. He was a
visiting Research Scholar to the University of New Hampshire, Durham, USA on the application
of remote sensing to agricultural research in 2007. Currently he is the GIS Research Database
Manager in the Geospatial Laboratory of International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)
Ibadan, Nigeria where he has been working since 1993. His area of research is in crop growth
modelling, climate change studies, Geospatial capacity building, and Poverty Mapping and

Kai Sonder is currently the head of the GIS unit of the International Maize and Wheat Improve-
ment Center (CIMMYT) based in the HQ in Texcoco, Mexico. The unit provides spatial data and
analysis, targeting, as well as training on GIS to all of CIMMYT’s scientists and projects as well
as partners applied to development oriented agricultural research on maize, wheat and conser-
vation agriculture in developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Until end of 2009
he held the position of Manager of the Geospatial Lab at the International Institute of Tropical
Agriculture (IITA) in its HQ in Ibadan, Nigeria, having joined IITA in mid 2006. The geospatial
lab provides support on GIS application, spatial data provision and analysis, agro meteorology
as well as targeting and GIS training to all of IITA’s projects. This work was mainly centered on
crop related analysis on maize, cassava, cowpea, yams, banana/plantain and soybean in SSA
as well as socioeconomic work related to the value chains and impact of these crops. Previ-
ously (2002-2006) Kai Sonder worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the International Livestock
Research Institute (ILRI) based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. His research areas included forage
trees in dry land as well as highland environments and work on livestock water productivity
in the Nile basin. He also worked on GIS applications for plant and animal genetic resources
units and projects within ILRI. Kai Sonder holds a PhD from the University of Hohenheim in
Stuttgart, Germany, having done his thesis research on soil conservation and erosion model-
ing in the Southern Colombian Andean hillsides while working at the International Centre for
Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) in Cali, Colombia. He also received a MS degree in tropical plant
production and agroecology from the Justus-Liebig-University in Giessen, Germany. He is a
member of the Council for Tropical and Subtropical Agricultural Research (ATSAF) in Germany.

Olusoji Oduwole is a Deputy/Assistant Director, Farming Systems Research and Extension (FSR
&E) department of Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, (CRIN). He had BS, MS and PhD in
Agricultural Economics from the University of Ife, 1981, University of Ibadan in 1985 and the
Federal University of Technology Akure in 2005 respectively. At CRIN, he has been working
as a Research Scientist on the economic aspects of Cocoa, Coffee, Cashew, Kola and Tea as it
affects the production and management of the crops and farmers productivity. He coordinated
the survey of Cocoa production area in Nigeria in 2005 and has been working on improving
farmer’s livelihood.

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86 International Journal of Applied Geospatial Research, 3(1), 72-86, January-March 2012

Chris Okafor is the Country Manager (Nigeria) of the Sustainable Tree Crops Program (STCP)
managed by the Ibadan-based International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). He suc-
cessfully led the implementation of a 3-year (2002-2005) pilot phase of the program in Nigeria.
He is presently providing leadership in implementing a follow up 5-year (2006-2011) country
program strategies in Nigeria. This assignment includes building partnerships to achieve con-
certed and integrated efforts for the transformation of cocoa-farming communities in Nigeria.
More recently, Chris received additional responsibility to implement the cocoa productivity
improvement component of a five-year (2009 – 2013) Cocoa Livelihoods Program (CLP). The
Program is the direct result of a close partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,
the World Cocoa Foundation and a consortium of technical organizations including IITA/STCP,
Technoserve, GTZ, ACDI/VOCA and SOCODEVI. CLP focuses on doubling the income of one
third of the cocoa farming households in Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia and Nigeria
within ten years. Prior to joining STCP, Chris had been involved, for 14 years, in managing
the IITA human resource development programs including graduate scholarship programs for
national agricultural research and development systems in sub-Saharan Africa. Chris holds a
PhD (Program Evaluation) from the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria and he is a mem-
ber of professional bodies such as the Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM), International
Agricultural Centers Training Group, American Evaluation Association and International As-
sociation of Facilitators.

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