Chapter Two
Literature Review
2.1 Origin of kola
The gems Kola of the family sterculiaceae (Russel, 1955), is indigenous to tropical Africa and has its centre of greatest diversity in west Africa in the forest areas of west Africa, kola is perhaps second only to palm oil in importance in the list of indigenous cash crops. About 40 kola species have been described in West Africa. However, in Nigeria, the kola species of real importance are kola acuminateand kola nitida
(Quarcoo,1973;(Daramola,1978) Kola acuminate and Kola nitida are important economic crops in the forest areas of west and central Africa, carribean islands, mauritivs, Sri Lanka and Malaysia (Eijnatten,1969);( Oladokun, 1985). The cultivation of cola nitida in Nigeria began sometime in the 19thcentury. The nitida?goro)wasobservednut?tobe (kolagrowing abundantly in the otta bush in 1854 while its cultivation was noted in Egba Division in 1902 and in Labochi and envious in 1901. From Agege, kola nitida cultivation presumably spread to the forest areas following first the course of the railway line into Abeokuta, Ibadan and Offa replacing the local kola acuminata and penetrating later along streams and river banks into the Guinea savannah and at present, south and Eastern state (Eijnatte, 1969).
Kola nuts have for hundreds of years served as an important article of internal trade in Nigeria and other parts of Africa (Nzekwu, 1961). It has been an item of trade in West Africa and in the Trans-saharan trade routes for many countries (Egbe and Sobamiwa, 1989).
Kola nut is used as a masticatory stimulant by Africans and has numerous uses in social, religious, ritual and ceremonial functions by the natives in the forest region of Africa it is used during ceremonies related to marriage, child naming, installation of chiefs, funeral and sacrifices made to the various gods of Africa Mythology (Nzekwu, 1967) ;( Daramola, 1978) ;(Opeke, 1992). There is also increasing demand for its usage in pharmaceuticals industries and for production of soft drinks, wines, and candles (Beattie, 1970); Ogutuga, 1975). Its uses have inevitably created a high demand in excess of its production (Oladokun, 1985).
Kola nut has been used as abuse for a now brand of chocolate and wine (Kola chocolate and kola wine) which were developed by CRIN researchers (famuyima, 1987). Eka, (1971), has also reported the possible use of pulverized kola nuts for the preparation of non-alcoholic beverages.
Kola pod husk has also been utilized for the production of liquid soap. The most recent and remarkable advancement is kola by-product utilization is the use of kola pod husk in the replacement of up to 60% of the maize used in
pottery feed formulations (yahayaet al, 2001); (Hamzat, 2001);( Hamzat and Babatunde, 2001) ;( Hamzat and longe, 2002) ;( Hamzatet al; 2000) ;( Olubamimaet al, 2002). Other uses of kola according to Nzekwu (1961) are as follows: − (1) It provides some essential materials for doth dying. (2) The pod bark, when mixed with some ingredients is used in traditional medicine to induce labour pains. (3) The bark is used in treating swellings and fresh wounds. Research on the improvement of productivity of kola is carried out at the cocoa research institute of Nigeria (CRIN) with the mandate in Nigeria for research into production and extension aspects of cocoa, kola, coffee, cashew and tea.
2.1 Strategies for enhancing investment opportunities in kola production.
- The first step is to improve the quality and quantity of kola nut production in the country. This can be achieved by two approaches.
- Rehabilitation of kola orchards: a more efficient utilization of land can be achieved by the cutting down of unproductive trees and replacing them with proven materials.
