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All roads led to Idi Ayunre, Ibadan, Oyo State, Headquarters of the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, CRIN, as people from all walks of life felicitated with the institute of its Diamond jubilee celebrations. The week-long 60th anniversary ceremony of the institute included Jumat and Church services and the Research Institute Games Association of Nigeria, RIGAN.
At the grand finale where the large multipurpose tent housed all dignitaries, there were other ones where the institute’s products were exhibited for the guests to see and purchase at affordable prices.

Dr Patrick Olusanmi Adebola Executive Director, of the institute, has expanded the scope of the institute by producing more valuable products from its mandated crops such as cocoa powder, cocoa bread, chocolate, cocoa wine cocoa yoghurt as well as poultry feed.
Adebola in his welcome address said that the institute is not resting on its oars, emphasising that the institute is currently assessing the genetic diversity in Nigerian cocoa using Simple Sequence Repeat, SSR, and Single Nucleotide Polymorphism SPN, markers to correct the errors of mislabeling and off-types.
Adebola said; “We have added value to cocoa and created new products for local consumption and export. We have processed cocoa beans into various products such as chocolate, cocoa butter, cocoa powder, cocoa wine, choco-bread, cocoa custard, soy-chocolate, chocolate spread, chocolate yoghurt, amongst others”
The institute under the leadership of Adebola also converted cocoa by-products into liquid soap, black bar soap, body cream, hair cream, body lotion and moisturizer.
