2008 Challenge Grants – Farm Level

Project Dates: November 2008-October 2009

Countries: Ghana, Nigeria and Vietnam

Funder: MC Publishing and the World Cocoa Foundation

Administrator: World Cocoa Foundation

Grantees: Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana, Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, Nong Lam University and Duc Hiep Cocoa Club

Overview of Challenge Grants Program:

The World Cocoa Foundation Challenge Grants Program was developed in 2008 with the objectives of:

Grants were open to research institutes, universities, farmer groups and NGOs from cocoa-producing countries.  Grants in the farm level category focus on labor-saving techniques and production efficiency.

Overview of Farm Level Grants Awarded:

In 2008, four challenge grants were awarded in the farm level category:

 

Grant Profiles:

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Project: Investigation of Mass Trapping for Control of Cocoa Mirids by Small-Scale Organic Cocoa Farmers in Ghana

Grantee: Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG)Problem Addressed: Mirids are a major source of crop losses in Ghana.  Organic farmers in particular have limited options for controlling this pest; conventional farmers would also benefit from an alternative means of pest control.Purpose: To introduce and evaluate mass pheromone trapping of mirids to small-scale organic farmers as a means of control and monitoring of the mirid population.

Result: Farmers successfully set up traps, monitored traps and collected data on 20 plots.  Preliminary results indicate the potential for using the pheromone traps as a monitoring tool and control.  Additional funding was provided in 2010 for further data collection in order to produce statistically significant results.


 

Project: Soil Fertility Management for Smallholder Cocoa in Nigeria

Grantee: Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN)

Problem Addressed: Soil fertility is essential for the continuing viability of cocoa farms.  However, the majority of Nigerian cocoa farmers do not use fertilizers.  Chemical fertilizers are often too expensive for farmers to afford.

Purpose: To use locally available materials to compost and process organic-based fertilizer.

Result: Compost formulations were developed and tested with the participation of approximately 30 farmers at six locations.  Additional funding was provided in 2010 to allow data collection to continue for one year following the second

application of fertilizer as well as to reduce the labor-intensity of preparing the

compost.

 

Project: Simplifying Drip Irrigation Systems for Small Cocoa Households

Grantee: Nong Lam University (Vietnam)

Problem Addressed: Drip irrigation can be an effective and efficient way of delivering water to cocoa and other crops during the dry season.  However, many cocoa farmers in Vietnam are either not aware of this technique or find it to be cost prohibitive.

Purpose: To develop an affordable drip irrigation system for cocoa farmers.

Result: An affordable drip-irrigation system was designed and successfully tested at four sites.  The installation cost of the system is one third that of an imported system.  A treatment of 20 liters of water per day per tree resulted in an average of 12.92 pods per month while the conventional irrigation method, using roughly the same amount of water, resulted in only 2.74 pods per month.

 

 

Project: Indirect Heat Drying System Using Coffee Husks as Burning Material

Grantee: Duc Hiep Cocoa Club (Vietnam)

Problem Addressed: Heavy rains and frequent storms during five months of the year make it difficult for farmers in southeastern Vietnam to properly dry their cocoa. 

Purpose:  Develop an indirect heat dryer that can dry cocoa beans, regardless of sunlight and weather conditions, without contaminating the beans with smoke.

Result:  With input from a mechanical engineer and industry representatives, the cocoa club designed, built and revised the dryer (pictured).  The dryer was successful in reducing losses to mold and did not impart a smoky flavor as can occur with other heat drying systems.