Sustainable Tree Crops Program - Cameroon
Project Dates: Pilot Phase 2003-2006, Phase II: 2007-2011
Country: Cameroon
Funders: US Department of Agriculture, US Agency for International Development, World Cocoa Foundation and industry, Cocoa Buffer Fund of the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture
Implementers: International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (manager, production, marketing, policy), SOCODEVI (cooperative development), ISCOM (sustainable enterprise and chain management)
Overview
The “Tree Crop Production, Marketing and Livelihoods Project” focuses on the development of mechanisms for marketing and trade, processing of products, and productivity, as well as the building of institutional capacity. The project is active in the Center and South West Provinces. The UpCocoa project focuses on increasing the capacity of cocoa farmers and their organizations to create professional, sustainable cocoa businesses. UpCocoa will initially work with 8 cooperatives with a total of 1,600 farmers in the Center Province.
Program objectives:
- To increase rural income in an environmentally and socially responsible manner
- To promote policy, marketing, processing and production of two tree crops - cocoa and oil palm
- To promote the production and marketing of cocoa and oil palm by-products and associated products such as plantain and non-timber forest products
- To develop farmer organizations’ capacity as agribusinesses and agricultural enterprises
- To develop local institutional capacity to provide production and marketing support services
Progress to Date:
- 3,986 farmers trained through Farmer Field Schools. Farmers receive training through the participatory Farmer Field School approach which covers topics related to integrated crop and pest management as well as quality improvement. To date, 242 facilitators representing the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MINADER), 12 farmer cooperatives and two cocoa-related organizations completed training. An additional 9,193 farmers benefited indirectly through farmer-to-farmer dissemination of information.
- Sustainable farmer cooperative-led seedling production & distribution system developed. Experts from the National Agricultural Research Institute for Development (IRAD) provide technical supervision while STCP facilitates, leads data collection, and provides basic nursery materials. To date, about 27,000 improved cocoa pods (695 ha) and 147,000 pre-germinated oil palm nuts (917 ha) were provided to the cooperatives, while 20 propagator units were built for banana/plantain. A total of 200,000 suckers were sold to MINADER’s banana plantain project. Cooperative technicians were trained in management of cocoa nurseries (64 people), oil palm nurseries (70 people) and banana/plantain propagation (103 people). Participating cooperatives have established seed funds and linkages to production centers for purchase of cocoa, oil palm, banana plantain and fruit seedlings.
- 10 local NGOs and public structures increased capacity of 12 cooperatives. SOCODEVI’s pilot project trained 10 local non-governmental organizations and public entities to assist farmers in developing cooperatives. All are providing the following services to their members: supplying improved planting material, training on production best practices, and marketing of products. Managers and accountants for each cooperative are participating in a training program, and all cooperatives have opened accounts at a micro-finance institution. The cooperatives are also connected to a new market information system called SIF. An additional 50 farmer groups have benefited from the project.
- Research highlights. STCP, IRAD and the National Forestry Agency (ANAFOR) are studying a farmer-developed cocoa agroforest model with 625 cocoa trees per hectare and 100 associated trees in Center Province. Biological control candidates against black pod disease have been isolated and participatory field trials are underway; preliminary results show a 30-50% decrease in disease levels.
Success Story: Increasing Yields, Reducing Pesticides