Initiative boosts cocoa productivity
More than 32,000 cocoa farmers in Ghana and other West African countries are now reducing the impact of pests and plant diseases on their cocoa crop.
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This has become possible through a joint programme by CropLife Africa Middle East and the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) which trains a small group of select farmers to become Spray Service Providers (SSPs).
SSPs are professionals who are able to identify pests, provide advice on their management and, when needed, properly apply crop protection products on cocoa farms.
About programme
The programme is part of the WCF African Cocoa Initiative (ACI), a public-private partnership sponsored by the US Agency for International Development and led by the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF).
The initiative aims to double productivity for 100,000 cocoa farm households and raise farmer incomes by 150-200 per cent by 2016.
According to Mr Bama Yao Octave, from CropLife African Middle East, the programme was important as it helped farmers avert major crop losses, a problem that had worsened in the past few years due to adverse weather largely attributed to climate change.
“Already, an estimated 30-40 per cent of the cocoa crop is lost to pests and diseases every year, but the situation is now being exacerbated by hotter, more humid conditions in West Africa that favour the development of insect pests and diseases. These weaken and sometimes destroy the crop,” Mr Octave said in a release.
Boosting productivity
The Chief of Party, WCF African Cocoa Initiative,Mr Sona Ebai, said the collaboration with CropLife African Middle East was vital to boost productivity, given global demand for cocoa is now outstripping supply.
“It is not only humans who love chocolate. It seems that pests and diseases have quite a taste for cocoa, so we are constantly in a race to protect the crop,” Mr Ebai said.
“One of WCF’s biggest assets is building partnerships. We needed CropLife’s expertise in training people to use agro-chemicals properly so that there is minimal environmental impact at the same time as there is maximised cocoa productivity to meet increasing demand,” he added.
Importance
Ghanaian cocoa farmer, Mr Lawrence Owosu, stated the importance of the scheme to his community.
“The spray service provider is very important and useful to all the cocoa farmers around. Farming has improved tremendously and people are now making profit,” he said.
Cocoa farmers participating in the program have benefited in a number of ways.
For example, by reducing the amount of cocoa lost to disease, farmers have improved their incomes and are better able to afford essential healthcare and education for their children.