Newsletter |january Thru march of 2010

 

 

 

President’s Message

 

Dear WCF Members, Partners, and Friends,

 

In the past few years, food security has become a renewed area of focus in agricultural and international development circles.  The issue has been gaining attention in light of discussions about climate change, population growth, rising food prices and other issues.  While many of us might say that chocolate is our favorite food, cocoa is usually not seen as a food crop since it is not commonly eaten in its raw, unprocessed form. But, as several of this newsletter’s success stories show us, cocoa can play an important role in food security. 

 

In Côte d’Ivoire, we learn about how income from cocoa helped a farmer to sustain his family through a difficult time.  And in Vietnam, we read about a woman whose ability to afford food for her family has improved since adding cocoa to her farm.

 

As these stories suggest, cocoa can be an important source of income for families, allowing them to purchase the food and provide for their basic needs.  Cocoa is ideal for intercropping and farmers can grow many food crops side-by-side with cocoa, particularly in areas of new cocoa plantings.  While cocoa may not be a food crop, it is a major factor in the food security of the millions of smallholder farmers who grow it. 

 

Regards,

Bill Guyton

 

 

cÔte d'ivoire: proud to be a cocoa farmer

 

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 Program 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.  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), he tells the STCP team, “Now I am proud to be a cocoa farmer.”

 

 

The Sustainable Tree Crops Program (STCP) is a public-private partnership with support from African governments, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the World Cocoa Foundation, and the chocolate industry. The program is managed by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA).

 

WCF thanks IITA/ STCP-Côte d’Ivoire for contributing this story.

 

 

 

colombia: farmer becomes a model for success

 

Omar is a cocoa farmer with a four-hectare (9.8-acre) farm near Rivera in the Huila Department of Colombia.  Omar and his wife purchased the farm nine years ago.  At the time, the trees were 4.5 meters (15 feet) tall and each tree produced only a few pods per year.  Omar tried growing other crops, such as tobacco and passion fruit, but low prices and limited market opportunities for these crops dissuaded him from continuing. 

 

Two years ago, Omar began receiving technical assistance from Casa Luker, a member company of the World Cocoa Foundation, to improve his cocoa production.  The following year, his farm was selected as one of twelve demonstration farms for a project supported by the World Cocoa Foundation, the National Cocoa Council, Casa Luker and Compañía Nacional de Chocolates to train farmers in improved production and post-harvest handling practices.  As a demonstration farm, Omar’s farm became the site for a farmer field school conducted in his area.  Through the farmer field school, Omar and the other participants learned how to reduce tree height, prune regularly, remove disease-infected pods, practice grafting to increase tree productivity, and irrigate. 

 

By implementing the practices he learned from Casa Luker and the farmer field school, Omar has significantly improved his yields and his income.  In the 2006/2007 season, Omar’s farm produced 330 kg/ha resulting in a net profit of 646,500 Colombian pesos (approximately US$330).  By the 2008/2009 season, Omar’s yields had increased to 1,400 kg/ha and net profit to 3,872,000 Colombian pesos (approximately US$2,000).  

 

 

 

Vietnam: Building a business with cocoa

 

H’Bim and her two children live in Krong Village in the Lak District of Dak Lak Province, Vietnam.  In 2007, H’Bim was struggling to support her family on a small plot of maize and rice supplemented with wage labor.  It was barely enough to cover the costs of food, and the family experienced some instances of hunger.  She signed up for SUCCESS Alliance, planted 500 seedlings and eventually became a training facilitator.  She started in 2007 by facilitating one cocoa club of 40 members.  She was so successful with this group that the following year she was asked to work with two additional cocoa clubs of 40 members each.  This is the first year that the cocoa trees are producing pods and the farmers are beginning to realize the results of their hard work and training.

 

H’Bim too is experiencing success.  She has already harvested two metric tons of fresh pods this year and purchased an additional 1.6 metric tons from other club members.  She then ferments the beans deriving 1 kg of beans for every 12-13 kg of fresh cocoa fruit.  Because of the high quality of the cocoa, H’Bim often receives a bonus. 

 

These positive results have led H’Bim to expand her farm.  She explains, “I’ve bought an additional 3,000 square meters of land to grow 300 more cocoa trees.  If I have one hectare of cocoa, I could earn 90 million Vietnamese dong [approximately US$4,700] from selling fresh pods or 110 million [approximately US$5,700] if they are fermented.  With that, I could buy my own car!”  She has also identified new business opportunities.  “This year, I will set up a dryer to dry cocoa in the rainy season and will cultivate 4,000 Leucaena seedlings to sell to other farmers,” she says referring to a type of tree commonly used to shade cocoa and coffee. 

 

SUCCESS Alliance Vietnam is supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Agency for International Development, World Cocoa Foundation, Mars Incorporated, ACDI/VOCA and various local organizations.

 

WCF thanks ACDI/VOCA for submitting this story.

 

 

wcf cocoa news

 

Click on the links below to read more.  Visit the WCF Blog and Facebook page and follow us on Twitter for updates throughout the quarter.

 

January 2010

 

February 2010

 

March 2010