Ibadan (Nigeria), Oct 5 (IANS): Nigeria will double its production of cocoa, one of its major export crops, from 250,000 to 500,000 metric tonnes by 2015, Minister of Agriculture Akinwumi Adesina said.

Adesina told an audience at the First International Cocoa Conference held in Ibadan, capital of Oyo State in southwestern Nigeria, that 3.6 million hybrid cocoa pods would be distributed free to cocoa farmers in the country to meet the target, reported Xinhua.

The new hybrid cocoa pods were developed by Nigerian researchers for local farmers.

Calling on the private sector to partner with the government in exploring the opportunities in cocoa production, Adesina said intensification of efforts toward adding value to cocoa in the country would enable it to be a global player in international cocoa business.

Nigeria ranked as one of the leading cocoa-producing countries in West Africa before the oil boom. Cocoa was a major export crop for the nation as it fetched a sizeable percentage of the nation's foreign exchange earnings.