WCF New Year's Message - December 2009

Newsletter | October Thru December of 2009

New Year ’s Message

Dear WCF Members, Partners and Friends,

2009 was an eventful year at the World Cocoa Foundation. In January, we announced our sustainability principles and goals to help guide our efforts and prioritize our projects. We launched three new programs in West and Central Africa -- the Cocoa Livelihoods Program, ECHOES II, and Improving Occupational Safety and Health on West African Cocoa Farms. Through a partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture/Foreign Agricultural Service, nine Cocoa Borlaug Fellows completed their fellowships this year.

In July, we launched our redesigned website in a new, more user-friendly format. We developed new ways for you to follow our work through Facebook and Twitter.

In this New Year’s Message we share some of our favorite success stories from our programs in Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America. 2010 marks the 10th anniversary of the founding of the World Cocoa Foundation. We look forward to celebrating this milestone with you throughout the year. Mark your calendars for our 2010 Partnership Meetings – May 19-20 in Utrecht, the Netherlands and October 20-21 in Washington, DC. Thank you to all of our members, partners and friends who helped to make this year a success.

Best wishes for the New Year!

The WCF Staff

New member spotlight

This month, we highlight four companies that joined the World Cocoa Foundation in 2009: Panda, Dependable Distribution Services, Ralcorp Holdings, Inc., and Safmarine Container Lines N.V..

“Panda wanted to join the World Cocoa Foundation because we in Panda have already for a while worked for sustainability principles and we have seen that WCF is making a tremendous work in cocoa-growing communities around the world. Panda is a small company and we saw that we can’t do so much alone but as a member in the World Cocoa Foundation we can share the good initiatives in order to improve the economical, social and environmental well being in cocoa-growing communities. If you are interested in having some more information about Panda, please visit our web site .”

- Ami Wardi, Managing Director, Panda

“Albert Schweitzer spoke that an ethical man devotes himself "helpfully" to all life....fellow man, plants, and animals. We, at Dependable, are proud to support the World Cocoa Foundation and its efforts to ensure sustainable cocoa production while protecting our environment and enhancing social, educational and economic development. As Mr Schweitzer said "Do something wonderful, people may imitate it.”

- Harvey Weiner, President, Dependable Distribution Services

“As an end user of cocoa products, Ralcorp understands that the cocoa farming community is a crucial partner in ensuring the long term sustainability of the cocoa industry. Ralcorp's membership in the World Cocoa Foundation and alignment with suppliers equally committed to the sustainability of the cocoa crop reflect Ralcorp's efforts to ensure a sustainable supply of quality products for its customers.”

- Kim Reed, Chief Procurement Officer, Ralcorp Holdings, Inc.

“Safmarine wants to play its part in ensuring cocoa sustainability and the optimal supply chain to support this worthy goal.”

- Larisa Thuije, Sustainability Manager, Safmarine Container Lines N.V.

West and central africa

CAMEROON: “Lessons were made quite easy and I could understand everything [the facilitator] taught us. I was very surprised when last year, I could obtain approximately 700 kg of dried cocoa beans from the same farm area.” – Mrs. Marguerite Ombga Andela, Center Region, Cameroon

WCF thanks the Sustainable Tree Crops Program (STCP) for submitting this story. 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).

CÔTE D'IVOIRE: “Today I can say with hope, that under the shade of the cocoa trees, in the farmer field school, I was born once again. I am HIV-positive, but I am one step ahead of the disease. With this knowledge, I can do a better job of planning my life and taking care of my family with the support of my husband.” – Mrs. Kouamé, Zamaka, Côte d’Ivoire

WCF thanks Family Health International (FHI) for submitting this story from the Building and Strengthening Health and Wellness Activities for the Sustainable Tree Crops Program in Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana Program. This program is supported by the World Cocoa Foundation and the U.S. National Confectioners Association and is implemented by FHI and IITA/STCP.

GHANA: “[The ECHOES Program] also taught us how to save money and open an account at the bank. In fact, putting money in the bank was something I never wanted to do for fear that someone could easily run away with my money. But I got convinced and now I am a proud account holder at ADB with checkbooks.” – Mr. Philip Annin, Suiano, Ghana

WCF thanks Winrock International for submitting this story. ECHOES is a partnership between the U.S. Agency for International Development, the World Cocoa Foundation, Kraft Foods, the Hershey Company, Mars Inc., Starbucks Coffee Company, Olam International Ltd., Fazer Confectionery Ltd., the Hain Celestial Group, Guittard Chocolate Company, the Norwegian Association of Chocolate Manufacturers and the Jacobs Foundation. Activities are implemented by the International Foundation for Education and Self-Help (IFESH), and Winrock International.

LIBERIA: “Prior to my joining the STCP farmer field school in 2007, I held the belief that the more chupon I had, the more trees I had and therefore the more cocoa my farm would produce. Hence, my farm was heavily laden with old trees bearing large quantities of chupons… Though hesitant at first, I proceeded to systematically remove the chupons as instructed in one of the FFS sessions.” – Mr. Peter Zangar, Mabor, Gbellay-Geh, Nimba County, Liberia

NIGERIA: WCF’s 2008/2009 Challenge Grant Program supported the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria’s work to improve soil fertility by promoting composting. Researchers developed a composting approach that utilized cocoa pod husks and other readily-available materials. Farmers then participated in field trials to test its effectiveness as a fertilizer.

This Challenge Grant is supported by MC Publishing and the World Cocoa Foundation.

Southeast Asia

REGIONAL: WCF welcomed the first Cocoa Borlaug Fellows from Southeast Asia – Mr. Muhammad Junaid of Hasanuddin University in Indonesia and Ms. Rhodina Cena of the University of Southern Mindanao in the Philippines. Their areas of research are the disease vascular streak dieback and the insect pest cocoa pod borer, respectively. Both recently attended the Cocoa Producers’ Alliance (COPAL) International Cocoa Research Conference.

The Norman E. Borlaug International Agricultural Science and Technology Fellows Program is supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture/Foreign Agricultural Service and the World Cocoa Foundation.

PHILIPPINES: “I will put into reality the plan of my husband to expand our cocoa plant nursery and move on in life using my skills and expertise in cocoa farming technology to give a better future for my two children.” – Magel, Lupi, Camarines Sur Province, the Philippines

WCF thanks ACDI/VOCA for submitting this story. SUCCESS Alliance Philippines is supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Agency for International Development, World Cocoa Foundation, Mars Incorporated, ACDI/VOCA, CocoaPhil and various local organizations.

VIETNAM: WCF’s 2008/2009 Challenge Grant Program funded the Duc Hiep Cocoa Club’s development of an indirect drying system using coffee husks as burning material. The system was developed to address the difficulties of properly drying beans during the adverse weather conditions of the rainy season.

Latin America

ECUADOR: With funding from GTZ through WCF’s 2008/2009 Challenge Grant Program, Conservación y Desarrollo developed educational tours and exchanges for farmer organizations. Participants visited other farmer groups to exchange experiences with production techniques and toured companies involved in different aspects of the cocoa value chain.

REGIONAL: WCF welcomed five Cocoa Borlaug Fellows from Latin America in 2009. Ms. Raquel Guerrero, Mr. Alexis Matute and Mr. James Quiroz of Ecuador completed fellowships with the U.S. Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service focusing on biocontrols, soil nutrition, and genetics, respectively. Mr. Erich Eger of Guatemala studied the identification and spread of frosty pod rot at Rutgers University. And, Mr. Alejandro María Núñez of the Dominican Republic studied soil quality in agroforestry systems at CATIE.

The Norman E. Borlaug International Agricultural Science and Technology Fellows Program is supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture/Foreign Agricultural Service and the World Cocoa Foundation. The Ecuador program was supported by the PL 480 Corporation.