All producing states
Tier 1 · South-West core belt
Ondo
Nigeria's most important cocoa territory: the largest single share in the published national production dataset, combined with established cocoa infrastructure and proximity to the Lagos export corridor.
Indicative output
78,783 t
National share
24%
National rank
#1
Identified LGAs
8
LGA → community evidence
| LGA | Community | Figure | Note | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ifedore | Owena | 78,783 t | Geo-referenced production point in the national dataset | Study estimate |
| Idanre | — | Not quantified | Described as the largest cocoa-producing LGA in Ondo; districts Odode-Idanre, Alade, Atosin | Field evidence |
| Ile-Oluji/Okeigbo | — | Not quantified | Selected in certified-cocoa profitability research | Field evidence |
| Ondo West | — | Not quantified | Established production centre; registered farmers and buyers sampled | Field evidence |
| Owo | — | Not quantified | Northern Ondo cocoa belt | Field evidence |
| Ose | — | Not quantified | Northern Ondo cocoa belt (Ifon, Idoani, Imoru, Imeri) | Field evidence |
| Odigbo | — | Not quantified | Southern/central forest belt (Ore, Ajue, Araromi-Obu, Omifon, Agbabu) | Field evidence |
| Akure South | — | Not quantified | Included among high-production LGAs in 2025 empirical study | Field evidence |
Rows marked “Not quantified” are cocoa-zone locations supported by field studies. No public dataset assigns tonnage to every village, so none is implied here.
Highlights
- ~71.34% of Idanre's land area classified moderately suitable for cocoa, 26.48% marginally suitable, only 2.18% unsuitable in a GIS land-suitability model.
- ~14,000 cocoa and oil-palm farmers across eight LGAs captured under an FAO-backed sustainability programme with GIS mapping and agroforestry.
- State is actively moving toward traceability and EU deforestation-compliance systems.
Towns to investigate physically
IdanreOdode-IdanreAladeAtosinIle-OlujiOkeigboOndoOwoIfonIdoaniOreOwenaAraromi-ObuAgbabu
Sources for this state
- Frontiers — Peer-reviewed national cocoa-production study; production table totals 328,263 t with state → LGA → community locations.
- RSIS International — 2025 empirical study selecting seven high-production Ondo LGAs.
- Academic Journals — GIS land-suitability model for Idanre cocoa.
- Federal Ministry of Information — ~14,000 farmers across eight Ondo LGAs under FAO-backed GIS/agroforestry programme.
- AgEcon Search — Certified-cocoa profitability and resuscitation studies with village-level sampling.
