World Cocoa Foundation Newsletter: January-March 2008
Chairman's Message
The start of 2008 has been quite active for the Foundation. With the ever-increasing focus on sustainability in our industry, the WCF continues to be seen as a leader in these efforts. Membership is now approaching 70 companies representing the majority of the cocoa supply chain.
In January, at the request of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the WCF hosted a round table discussion on empowering the African cocoa farming community that brought together various industry members, NGOs, and representatives from USAID and the ICCO. After a full day of discussions, break out sessions, and input from all participants, the group concluded that the best way to achieve the goals of the Gates Foundation was through farmer education and the development of farmer groups or cooperatives. We look forward to seeing future collaboration in achieving some of the priorities discussed during the meeting.
The staff, as always, has been working diligently on our many programs and the upcoming partnership meeting in Guayaquil, Ecuador. We already have more than 120 people registered for our first meeting in a producing country, and have nearly filled the list for the Ecuador cocoa tour for members scheduled later that week.
Overall, this year is shaping up to be an exciting one for the Foundation. Our continued growth in membership, coupled with our efforts to strengthen relationships with fellow organizations, should provide increased opportunities for the WCF to expand its work in creating a sustainable future for cocoa growing communities.
Best regards,
Kip Walk
Chairman
New Member Spotlight
The World Cocoa Foundation welcomes nine new members: the Camden International Commodities Terminal LLC, Chocolate Marketing LLC, Confectionery Manufacturers of Australasia, Friesland Foods, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (Canada), Rogers’ Chocolates Ltd., Romero Trading SA, Tradin Organic Agriculture BV and Transmar Commodity Group of Ecuador. In this issue, we highlight four of these new members. Click on the company’s name to learn more.
“In the past several years, Camden International has played a major role in cocoa bean imports to the US. Last year, the Port of Camden handled close to 50% of the total cocoa bean imports. The welfare of the supply chain is critical to us both publicly and economically. Our interest as a terminal operator would be to bring a new public and political awareness to the Foundation.”
-- Jeffery Wheeler, President, Camden International Commodities Terminal
“Rocky Mountain (Canada) is committed to doing its part in ensuring a sustainable cocoa crop for the future. This can only be accomplished by involving the cocoa farming communities and providing change directly to them. The World Cocoa Foundation has proven itself in enabling change by involving the chocolate industry and the affected communities. We believe that this approach is most likely to succeed and that is why we are proud to have our retail locations across Canada participating with this organization.”
--Brian Kerzner, President, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (Canada)
“WCF is the leading forum to develop the sustainable supply of cocoa to the world; and Tradin Organic Agriculture B.V. has been active in developing sustainable organic agricultural and processing projects, mostly in developing countries to empower the growers by offering access to markets. By doing so, we are able to provide the global food manufacturers of many organic categories, including confectionary and bakery, with high quality organic raw materials. Our aim is to remain the world market leader in organic commodity trade and to continue innovation to deliver superior quality of guaranteed certified organic raw materials to our global customers. We are proud to have a well experienced quality and commercial department, specialized in the sourcing and trading of organic (and Fair Trade) cocoa beans and cocoa derivates. Our international organic cocoa position is the reason we wish to join the WCF.”
--Wim Rabbie, Chairman, Tradin Organic Agriculture BV
“We share and support the goals of the WCF, as our company’s mission is to become not only the premier cocoa beans and semi-finished product company in Ecuador, but to do so in a way that is socially, environmentally and economically sustainable, thus promoting sustainable cocoa farming for future generations of Ecuadorian farmers.”
-- Tim Johnson, General Manager, Transmar Commodity Group of Ecuador
ECHOES Increases Opportunities for Youth in Ghana
In the small village of Suiano in the Juaboso district of Ghana, young people like 23-year-old Kwaku Yeboah feel ill-prepared for the work opportunities available in their community. “There are a lot of youth in the community that have completed school and are just rolling in the streets,” says Suiano’s Headteacher Mr. Boadi Kaakyire, “Even though cocoa is the main economic activity in this area, there is no formal training on cocoa farming in the school curriculum.”
Both Mr. Yeboah and Mr. Kaakyire were pleased to learn that Suiano was selected to participate in the youth livelihoods component of the ECHOES Program. The program will provide agricultural leadership training to out-of-school youth, and integrate skills-based education on cocoa into primary and secondary schools. “I am very happy about this project,” says Mr. Kaakyire, “This project has come at the right time and I hope at the end these boys will have something to do rather than moving to the city to look for a job.”
Mr. Yeboah hopes to participate in the out-of-school program and have the opportunity to develop his own cocoa enterprise such as seedling production. The chief of the village has demonstrated his support for the program by allocating land for the school’s practical training exercises, and providing housing for the ECHOES field agent to live in the community.
ECHOES is a Global Development Alliance Partnership between the US Agency for International Development, the World Cocoa Foundation, and Foundation members Cloetta Fazer, ED&F Man Cocoa, the Hershey Company, Kraft Foods, Mars Inc., the Norwegian Association of Chocolate Manufacturers, Olam International Ltd., and Starbucks Coffee Company. Activities are implemented by the International Foundation for Education and Self-Help (IFESH), Making Cents International, and Winrock International.
WCF thanks Winrock International for contributing this story.
Ecuadorian Farmer Rehabilitates Trees, Raises Income
Mr. Raul Gonzalez and his family own a 15-year old, 3 hectare cocoa farm in Naranjal, Ecuador. Mr. Gonzalez is a member of Nariz del Diablo, a 100-member farmer organization that receives support from ACCESO and WCF-member Anecacao through its membership in La Union de Riberas del Rio Bulu Bulu. “With the technical assistance of Anecacao and the contribution of ACCESO, we began an initiative to strengthen our organization by training our members and building infrastructure for post-harvest handling. ACCESO has contributed with a set of fermentation boxes and [solar] dryer for post-harvest,” says Mr. Gonzalez.
Working with Anecacao, Mr. Gonzalez has rehabilitated 1.5 hectares of the older trees on his farm. As a result of this assistance and the quality training his organization received through ACCESO, Mr. Gonzalez has noticed significant results: “Before, we harvested only 250 kilograms per year. We fermented the beans without using boxes; consequently, we got lower prices because of the problems with quality. This affected my family income. Then, I realized that it’s very important to apply what we learn in the training sessions.” Today, Mr. Gonzalez’s farm produces 750 kilograms of cocoa annually. ACCESO is supported by the World Cocoa Foundation, the Organization of America States, the US Agency for International Development and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture.
WCF thanks Marcelo Nuñez and Jaime Mansilla for contributing this story.
From Photography to Fermentaries in Vietnam
Mr. Do Van Phuc is a photographer from Ben Tre Province in Vietnam. Living in a small village where there were few customers, Mr. Phuc was interested in identifying additional sources of income. Mr. Phuc’s neighbor, Mr. Tran Hung Son, built a successful cocoa business that is frequently visited by experts including members of the Nong Lam University cocoa team. Out of curiosity, Mr. Phuc began to attend cocoa demonstrations at his neighbor’s farm.
In 2003, he received 500 grafted cocoa seedlings from Mr. Son and planted them with his longan trees. In 2007, he attended a fermentation workshop held at Nong Lam University and began to practice what he learned.
Encouraged by the results, he and his wife opened a small fermentary business, buying ripe pods from neighboring farmers and fermenting the beans. Mr. Phuc regularly receives a premium from the areas’ main buyers, WCF members ED&F Man and Cargill, due to the quality of fermentation. Mr. Phuc continues to work to improve the quality of his product and is planning to build a solar dryer. Recently, Mr. Phuc began collaborating with Nong Lam University to conduct fermentation experiments. Nong Lam University’s Cocoa Project is supported by the World Cocoa Foundation.
WCF thanks Nong Lam University for contributing this story.
Cocoa Basics: What is Witches' Broom?
Witches’ Broom, caused by a fungus with the scientific name Moniliophthora perniciosa, is a serious disease of cacao in Latin America. Microscopic spores of the fungus are produced in small mushroom-like structures that develop on diseased branches and pods during rainy periods. These spores are spread by wind and infect susceptible parts of the cacao tree.
Vegetative brooms, which are multiple broom-like branches, develop on branches and flowers; pods become infected up to about 12 weeks of age and are usually destroyed so that cocoa beans cannot be produced and harvested. Management of cacao in the presence of witches’ broom is difficult and requires knowledge of favorable climate for disease initiation, availability and abundance of pathogen spores and susceptible cacao tissues, and the age of susceptible tree parts.
Native to the Amazon, the fungus is now present in most of the cacao growing regions in South America and several Caribbean islands. It occurs in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Grenada, Guyana, Panama (on the South American side of the canal), Peru, St. Vincent, Surinam, Tobago, Trinidad, and Venezuela. In 1989 witches' broom was detected for the first time in the state of Bahia, Brazil. It invaded this major cacao growing area of Brazil and ravaged production. Yields in Bahia decreased from over 400,000 metric tons in the 1980s to less than 100,000 metric tons in just ten years. Losses from witches' broom may be more than 90%, and are routinely about 50%. Currently losses in Latin America are estimated at $300 million per year, resulting in further losses in many areas due to abandonment of cultivation.
WCF thanks Dr. Robert Lumsden for contributing this story.
WCF Cocoa News
Click on the links below to read about WCF staff travel to the field and participation in events. Visit the World Cocoa Foundation Blog on a regular basis for updates.
January 2008
February 2008
The Cake Bar holds a fundraiser for WCF in Washington, DC
WCF holds a Chocolate from the Rainforest Reception at the US Botanic Garden
March 2008