encouraging sustainable, responsible cocoa growing

Entry: Bill Guyton, World Cocoa Foundation

This morning I attended a tribute breakfast to Ron H. Brown, hosted by Constituency for Africa (CFA) in Washington, DC. Ron Brown was the first African-American appointed U.S. Secretary of Commerce and the first to serve as Chairman of the Democratic National Committee. At the time of his death in 1996, he was a figure of global prominence, respected for his intelligence, and leadership. I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Brown in Ghana during a reception held in his honor that same year.

Photo: Ron H. Brown

Through the leadership of the Brown family, friends and business associates, the Ron Brown Scholar Program (www.ronbrown.org) was formed 10 years ago. Today the program awards twenty $40,000 college scholarships annually to extraordinary African-American high school seniors. No restrictions are placed on the students' choices of school or discipline. To date, the program has awarded over 221 scholarships, with Scholars studying at colleges and universities across the United States. Scholars' interests range from medicine to public policy, from the creative arts to business. Many of these talented young people have a strong interest in Africa and several have traveled to work on development efforts there.

During the breakfast, we heard from Michael Mallory, President of the Ron Brown Scholar Program, and then from two Ron Brown Scholars who are now leaders in their communities. I was humbled by their talents and enthusiasm to help make the world a better place. Michael Brown, Ron’s son, gave the closing remarks, congratulating the young people for helping to maintain the legacy and optimism of his father. I thank the Constituency of Africa for organizing the Ron Brown Series each year in September and look forward to the other events planned this week.

Entry: Bill Guyton, World Cocoa Foundation

In early September, I had the opportunity to visit several cocoa farming communities in Cote d’Ivoire. This visit was particularly rewarding for me, since I was able to not only see the impact the WCF-sponsored programs, but also the strengthening collaboration among our partners on the ground. Joining me on the trip were Jean Yves Couloud (STCP), Euphrasie Aka (STCP), Fanny Saraho (IFESH), and Patrice Kassi (Winrock). Peter Murphy, a reporter from Reuters, also accompanied us on the trip and wrote a brief article.

N’Gbasso is a small village 150 kilometers from Abidjan where WCF and its partners are supporting farmer training and education programs. We attended a Sustainable Tree Crops Program farmer field school where we heard first hand some of the challenges of cocoa farming. Through the STCP program, farmers are learning how to improve soil fertility, control diseases and pests, diversify their tree crops, and form farmer support groups. In the village, IFESH is working with farmers and their families to increase functional literacy. We also visited a farmer cooperative which was working with our partners to provide improved tree seedlings to local farmers.

While IFESH has focused more on teacher training and traditional education, Winrock concentrates on vocational education for in-school and out-of-school youth. They have established youth agriculture clubs and also family scholarship programs for women to help pay school-related expenses and send their children to school. We visited one of their project sites where women explained how the family scholarship program had helped them to establish sewing businesses.

The following day, we were warmly greeted by the community of Alepé where women and youth are participating in an IFESH functional literacy program. They explained how, in addition to literacy skills, they learned some of the risks associated with farm safety including heavy loads, machete uses, and pesticide applications. I also noticed signs on the road for a GTZ (Germany Development Agency), which helps to sensitize communities regarding child labor on cocoa farms. The International Cocoa Initiative (ICI) is also a leader in this area, along with the Government of Cote d’Ivoire, under the leadership of the Cocoa Taskforce, Ministry of Civil Service and Employment, Ministry of Agriculture and others.

On my final day, I had the pleasure of meeting with Family Health International (FHI) which is working in collaboration with STCP to develop health training on HIV/AIDS and malaria prevention for farmer field schools. The day concluded with a debriefing with Mme Amouan Acquah Assouan, head of the Cote d’Ivoire Cocoa Taskforce, as well as the Minister of Education.

Although there are many positive efforts on the ground, it is clear that much more is possible. The World Cocoa Foundation looks forward to continuing these programs and seeing how we can reach out to other partners who share the goal of improving conditions for cocoa growing communities in West Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia.

Entry: Bill Guyton, World Cocoa Foundation; Jean-Yves Couloud, STCP/Cote d'Ivoire; and Euphrasie Aka, STCP/Cote d'Ivoire

While visiting the Sustainable Tree Crops Program Farmer Field School in N’Gbasso, Cote d’Ivoire, we met several of the farmers participating in the training program. Three of the many farmers that shared their stories with us are Mr. Gnanzou Ehile, Mr. Salif Keita and Mr. Baki Gonsongo.

Photo: Mr. Salif Keita (fourth from left) and Mr. Gnanzou Ehile (fifth from left) at the Farmer Field School site in N'Gbasso.

Mr. Ehile lives in the nearby village of Mpossa with his wife and four children. He attended the Farmer Field School in 2005. Initially, he was skeptical of the Farmer Field School approach, but now is one of the greatest supporters of the program in his area. By implementing the techniques he learned, he has increased production to 900 kg per hectare on his 4 hectare farm. As a result of his increased income, Mr. Ehile is now able to afford his diabetes medication. Encouraged by the results, Mr. Ehile purchased an additional 3 hectares in 2006 to plant with improved cocoa varieties.

Photo: Mr. Salif Keita and Bill Guyton.

Mr. Keita is a 51 year-old cocoa farmer originally from Mali who is married with 10 children. In addition to his three hectare farm, he owns a small shop in the village. Over the past year, Mr. Keita participated in the Farmer Field School where he learned to recognize and control cocoa pests and diseases while protecting the environment. He began to apply these skills to his farm and realized a 40% increase in production. With the resulting increase in income, Mr. Keita is able to better stock his shop, send his children to school, and communicate with his parents in Mali using his new cell phone. For the first time in seven years, he was able to visit his relatives in Mali and is planning to build a house there.

Photo: Mr. Baki Gonsongo

Mr. Gonsongo is a 45 year-old farmer who is originally from Burkina Faso. He is a sharecropper on the farm where the Farmer Field School is held and also has his own 5 hectare cocoa plot. He mentioned that last year he was considering abandoning the 1 hectare sharecropped plot because it was only producing 300 kg of cocoa per year. Through the Farmer Field School, he learned techniques for improving farm productivity such as phytosanitary harvesting, rational use of pesticides, and pest and disease control. By implementing these techniques on both his personal farm and the sharecropped plot, he was able to increase annual production to 400 kg per hectare only one year later. With the extra income, he was able to pay for his wife’s medical expenses and purchase a cell phone to communicate regularly with his parents in Burkina Faso.