Newsletter | April Thru june of 2009

 

 

 

President’s Message

Dear WCF Members, Partners and Friends,

Recently, the World Cocoa Foundation held its 15th Partnership Meeting in Washington, DC focusing on the theme “The Smallholder Cocoa Farmer in a Globalized World.”  It was wonderful to see so many of our members, U.S. and producing-country government representatives, farmer groups, research scientists, and non-governmental organizations gather together to discuss different aspects of this theme.

The meeting began with keynote addresses from Ms. Patricia R. Sheikh, Acting General Sales Manager and Deputy Administrator for the Office of Capacity Building and Development, Foreign Agricultural Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture and Dr. Lutz Goedde, Deputy Director, Agricultural Development Program of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Other highlights of the meeting included workshops on policy issues, education and community, and international cooperation as well as a panel session that discussed how the cocoa value chain connects farmers and consumers.  Presentations from the meeting are available on our website. Concurrently, WCF and several program partners filmed an interview for a segment on the Cocoa Livelihoods Program that aired on the African World television program.

During the event, three individuals were honored for their contributions to cocoa sustainability.  Dr. Stephan Weise received an award for his leadership of the Sustainable Tree Crops Program managed by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture.  Ms. Josephine Ramos of the Cocoa Foundation of the Philippines was honored for her work to develop a sustainable cocoa sector in the Philippines.  Mr. John Lunde, recently retired from Mars Inc., was recognized for his contributions to cocoa sustainability over the course of his career.  Congratulations to this year’s awardees.

Our next Partnership Meeting will take place in Brussels on October 14 and 15, 2009.  We look forward to seeing many of you there. Registration is now open; contact Clementine Leahy for details.

Over the last few months, WCF has been pleased to welcome three new member companies – Mitsubishi Corporation (Japan), Panda (Finland) and Multi-Trex Investments Limited (Nigeria).  We are also pleased to announce that Mr. Mbalo Ndiaye has joined us as the new director of the Cocoa Livelihoods Program, co-funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 11 chocolate company members.   The program focuses on Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Cameroon, Nigeria and Liberia. He will be based in Accra, Ghana.

Finally, WCF joins with the U.S. Department of Agriculture/Foreign Agricultural Service in announcing our next Cocoa Borlaug Fellows – Mr. Eric Eger of FundaSistemas (Guatemala), Mr. Samuel Orisajo of the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, and Ms. Demanie Musu Flomo of Liberia.

Regards,

Bill Guyton

 

Ecuador: Ecuador Cocoa Borlaug Fellows

 

In partnership with the PL 480 Corporation and U.S. Department of Agriculture/Foreign Agricultural Service, the World Cocoa Foundation welcomed the first Ecuador Cocoa Borlaug Fellows under the Norman E. Borlaug International Agriculture Science and Technology Fellows Program.  Three fellows from the Instituto Nacional Autónomo de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (INIAP) are participating in fellowships with the U.S. Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service (USDA/ARS).  Ms. Raquel Guerrero is studying formulation techniques for Trichoderma as a biocontrol for common fungal diseases such as frosty pod rot and witches’ broom. Mr. Alexis Matute is working on developing techniques for farmers to improve productivity and reduce incidence of disease; specifically, he is working on plant nutrition. Both are working with mentor Dr. Bryan Bailey of USDA/ARS’s Sustainable Perennial Crops Lab in Beltsville, Maryland.  Mr. James Quiroz is working on genetic characterization of disease resistant trees from INIAP’s germplasm collections with Dr. Juan Carlos Motamayor at USDA/ARS’s Subtropical Horticulture Research Station in Miami.  As a part of the program, Dr. Bailey and Dr. Motamayor will visit INIAP to follow up with the fellows.

During their fellowships, the fellows had the opportunity to learn more about the cocoa supply chain by visiting WCF member companies in the New Jersey/Pennsylvania area.  Camden International Commodities Terminal, Barry Callebaut, Blommer Chocolate Company, The Hershey Company and Mars Inc. graciously hosted the fellows during their visit. The fellows also attended the WCF Partnership Meeting where they met recent Cocoa Borlaug Fellow alumnus Mr. Joseph Anikwe of the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria.  Mr. Anikwe and his mentor Dr. Aijun Zhang of USDA/ARS presented on a panel about workforce development for scientists. 

 

Liberia: Pruning is One Farmer's Key to Success

Mr. Peter Zangar is a 37 year old farmer with four children who lives in the village of Mabor in the Gbellay-Geh District of Nimba County, Liberia.  He has a 1.5 acre (0.6 hectare) farm.  Just prior to Liberia’s civil war, he had started to receive training through the Nimba County Rural Development Project, but unfortunately the project phased out as the war began.  Mr. Zangar explains:

"'Prior to my joining the STCP Farmer Field School (FFS) 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.  My annual production never exceeded one bag of dried cocoa beans.  I produced about 50-60 kilos only.  I thought the low yield was due to bad soil, and at a point I decided to abandon the farm.  However, having given it a second thought, I mortgaged the farm for the sum of L$2,500 (~US$40) for two years with a promising note to pay back anytime I wanted.  It was during this period that I enrolled in the STCP FFS.  I was fascinated and drawn to topics such as thinning and shading, which also included chupon removal.  Initially, I was doubtful – it did not make sense to me to be removing the ‘young cocoa trees.’  Though hesitant at first, I proceeded to systematically remove the chupons as instructed in one of the FFS sessions.''

Peter Zangar (left) and Joseph Mehn with one of the seedlings from the nursery.

 

At the beginning of the next cocoa production season, Mr. Zangar says he could not believe the number of pods that his old trees began to bear.  He was so excited that he began to visit the farm daily, just to make sure that he was not dreaming.  He told his neighbors about the changes on his farm; several visited and were impressed with the results.  With the application of the new techniques, his total yield was nearly four times the highest quantity he had ever recorded. As a result, he was able to pay back the mortgage on his farm and send his four children to school.

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-Liberia for contributing this story.

 

Philippines: Meet a SUCCESS Alliance Training Facilitator

Mrs. Magel is a training facilitator for the SUCCESS Alliance Phase II program who led a year-long Farmer Field School for 100 smallholder cocoa farmers in her hometown of Lupi, Camarines Sur Province, the Philippines. 

“'Before joining SUCCESS Alliance II in October 2007, I was jobless for over two years after giving up my stable job in Manila, as an office staff, to take care of my two young children (a seven-year-old girl and ten-year-old boy) in the province,” she says.  After passing the rigorous training facilitator selection process, she underwent a two-week intensive training on cocoa farming technology in November 2007.

Mrs. Magel (pictured below) showed her commitment, dedication and outstanding service as a training facilitator in her community.  She conducted the Farmer Field School sessions with hands-on practicum and simple, understandable notes for farmers.  She is well liked by the farmers in her community as evidenced by high attendance rates at her sessions.  She visits farmers at their farms to ensure that they are well served.  On Saturdays, Mrs. Magel provides technical assistance to a cocoa demonstration farm being developed in her community which will eventually be open to farmers for training and field research.

Read more about Mrs. Magel’s family and their participation in the program.

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

WCF thanks ACDI/VOCA for contributing this story.

 

Cocoa Basics: Cocoa Breeding Programs - Part II

In the last issue of the WCF newsletter, this section provided an overview of the objectives and challenges of cocoa breeding research.  This issue provides a rough overview of breeding programs.  There has been a dramatic increase of activity in the last ten years; for these purposes, only the briefest summary is possible. 

Internationally, cocoa breeders share information and data under the INGENIC system.  Participation is voluntary, but members meet at least once every three years.  INGENIC also has regional working groups which may meet more frequently.  The largest traditional selection and breeding program worldwide has been carried out for ten years under the aegis of the Common Fund for Commodities project managed by Bioversity International.  In addition to site evaluation in 14 countries, over 3,500 small farmers have been involved in West Africa alone. The U.S. Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service in Miami and Mars Inc. have initiated a mapping project for the cocoa genome; and, parallel to that effort have conducted a directed molecular marker assisted breeding program in collaboration with CATIE in Costa Rica and INIAP in Ecuador. 

These global efforts complement regional and national breeding programs which are too numerous to discuss here.  WCF specifically supports one regional program in Southeast Asia and two in the Americas. In Southeast Asia, the INGENIC Asia Pacific Working Group (India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and Vietnam) exchanges material and conducts field trials.  The Group aims to identify varieties that are high yielding and also resistant to common pest and disease problems.  In Latin America, WCF supports the work of CATIE to identify varieties resistant to frosty pod rot.  Similarly in Trinidad, the Cocoa Research Unit at the University of the West Indies evaluates germplasm for resistance to witches’ broom.

WCF thanks Eric Rosenquist for contributing this story.

 

WCF Cocoa News

Click on the links below to read more. Visit the WCF Blog regularly for updates.

 

April 2009

WCF holds a Chocolate from the Rainforest Reception at the U.S. Botanic Garden Conservatory

WCF partners with CHOKOFA to address farm safety and health

Rhodina Cena, Cocoa Borlaug Fellow from the Philippines, began her fellowship

Muhammad Junaid, Cocoa Borlaug Fellow from Indonesia, began his fellowship

Cocoa Borlaug Fellows attend PMCA 63rd Annual Production Conference

May 2009

Cocoa Borlaug Fellows tour WCF member companies

June 2009

ECHOES youth entrepreneurship materials available

WCF holds 15th Annual Partnership Meeting in Washington, DC

Cocoa Livelihoods Program featured on the African World TV program

July 2009

James Quiroz, Cocoa Borlaug Fellow from Ecuador attends the Partnership Meeting and visits USDA/ARS Beltsville

Alexis Matute, Cocoa Borlaug Fellow from Ecuador reflects on Cocoa Borlaug Program

Bill Guyton, World Cocoa Foundation's Tracey Duffey Receives Prestigeous Award from PMCA