Success Story: Proud to be a cocoa farmer
Méagui, Côte d’Ivoire
Mr. Bernard Kouakou is a cocoa farmer in Méagui in the western region of Côte d’Ivoire. He is married with 11 children. His family relies on income from his 26-year-old, five-hectare cocoa farm to support their needs.
“When I heard about Farmer Field School sessions, I paused and asked what good it will bring to me and my family,” he says. At first, he was skeptical and thought that “farmers in school was unheard of and a waste of time” and that he would “rather spend time on the farm than at a school.”
However, he says, “With perseverance, I was encouraged by the Sustainable Tree Crops to attend the Farmer Field School.”
Mr. Kouakou began participating in the Farmer Field School in June 2008 where he learned about integrated crop and pest management. Later, he applied the techniques he learned, such as sanitary harvesting practices and removal of mistletoe. Without using pesticides, his yields increased from 3 metric tons to 6.5 metric tons the same year.
In December 2008, Mr. Kouakou suffered misfortune as his house was destroyed in a storm. “Of course it was an old clay house, but I did not have enough money to put a good house then,” he recalls. A similar house is pictured at left.
However, because of his increased yields, Mr. Kouakou had enough money to sustain his family through this difficult time and was able to build a new, improved house.
Others in the community have noted his success. As he explains, “Now my neighbors wonder whether I have bought an additional farm and I tell them, ‘No! I have been able to increase my yields by applying different good farm practices that I learned from a school for farmers.’”
As Mr. Kouakou stands in front of his new home with STCP Country Manager Robert Yapo (pictured at right), he tells the STCP team, “Now I am proud to be a cocoa farmer.”
WCF thanks IITA/STCP Côte d’Ivoire for contributing this story.
Read about the Sustainable Tree Crops Program