Speaking Engagements
World Cocoa Foundation President Bill Guyton spoke on behalf of the World Cocoa Foundation at two industry conferences last month – PMCA (Pennsylvania Manufacturers) and CMAA (Cocoa Merchants of America). The PMCA speech, given by both Bill and WCF consultant BK Matlick, centered on “A Cooperative Strategy to Support Sustainable Cocoa Production.” At CMAA Bill was part of a panel discussion on responsible cocoa growing, sharing the stage with Kevin Bales of Free the Slaves and Jeff Hill of USAID. Newspaper reports on the presentations appeared in The Patriot News and on Reuters News Service respectively. Contact Susan Smith .
New Members
The World Cocoa Foundation welcomes its four newest members – the National Confectioners Association, World’s Finest Chocolate, Jelly Belly Candy Company and Buhler Inc. NCA President Larry Graham has joined the Board of the Foundation. Contact Myrna Morris .
Educational Booth
Seventeen thousand chocolate and candy makers, candy buyers, suppliers and others attended the ALL CANDY EXPO last month and many of them stopped by the World Cocoa Foundation booth to learn more about sustainable cocoa growing and the Foundation’s work in Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America. The booth, located near the entrance to the show floor, used videos, graphics and literature to tell the sustainable story. Contact Bill Guyton .
Cocoa Research Efforts
The World Cocoa Foundation and its partners have supported two regional planning workshops to assist with implementation and coordination of cocoa research efforts. The Latin American workshop was held in Costa Rica and the West African regional workshop was in Nigeria. Contact Bill Guyton .
News from the field:
Latin America
Great news for sustainable cocoa growing in Latin America. USDA, the World Cocoa Foundation, CIRAD and the Ecuadorian Cocoa Exporters have agreed to work together to assist Ecuadorian cocoa farmers in controlling pests and diseases and promoting good farming practices. One goal is to help farmers control the spread of witches' broom and frosty pod through biological control.
Meanwhile in Brazil the World Cocoa Foundation has extended its support of Conservation International’s project to resist the spread of witches' broom while promoting agroforestry surrounding the Una Biological Preserve in Bahia. Conservation International’s goal is to use cocoa as part of an integrated strategy to achieve biodiversity conservation in a crucial biologically important area of the world. Contact Bill Guyton .
West Africa
The pilot radio broadcast program, which provides vocational training as well as information on appropriate labor practices to farmers and their families living in remote areas, began this month in Western Ghana. The radio broadcasts are available in English, the official language of Ghana, as well as one local language. The joint STCP-ILO farmer field school workshop to train trainers was held in March. Farmer training on efficient production and marketing practices and responsible labor practices begins this month in Cameroon, Nigeria and Guinea. Training of trainers in the Ivory Coast is scheduled for this week. Contact Bill Guyton .
Southeast Asia
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has agreed to provide $4.5 million to Vietnam to assist with cocoa cultivation in that country. Technical partners for the expanded program will be Vietnam’s University of Agriculture and Forestry with assistance from the World Cocoa Foundation. The program will be managed by ACDI-VOCA. Contact Bill Guyton .
Farmer field school training continues in the Indonesia SUCCESS program. The latest major workshop was in the Sub-district of Wolo. Also the SUCCESS Alliance and Hasanuddin University’s Plant, Pest and Diseases department signed a Memorandum of Cooperation supporting ongoing collaboration on biological control and genotype research on cocoa. Contact Bill Guyton .