Entry: Bill Guyton

Last week, I had the opportunity to visit the Cocoa Research Unit (CRU) in Trinidad. For nearly a decade, The World Cocoa Foundation has been funding important research at CRU to evaluate cocoa germplasm for resistance to Witches’ Broom disease. This was my first opportunity to actually see the research facilities and meet the excellent researchers who have been working on the program. The photographs below were taken by Dr. Lyndel Meinhardt from USDA/ARS, who joined me on the trip.

CRU is located on the St. Augustine campus of the University of the West Indies, just outside of Port of Spain. It is one of two international cacao germplasm field collections, representing clones of cacao collected from centers of origin in the Amazon and from other sources. The aim of the project that World Cocoa Foundation sponsors is to develop efficient methods for evaluating for witches’ broom disease resistance, and by using this method, evaluating representative trees in the international collection for witches’ broom resistance. These clones will be made available to farmers and to other researchers in the region.

We at World Cocoa Foundation extend our sincere thanks to Dr. Darin Sukha and the excellent team at the CRU for their important work in helping cocoa farmers:

Mrs. Frances Bekele - Research Fellow
Dr. Darin Sukha - Research Fellow
Mrs. Gillian Bidaisee - Contract Officer
Mr. Lambert Motilal - Contract Officer
Ms. Antoinette Sankar - Contract Officer
Mrs. Romina Umaharan - Contract Officer
Mr. Balram Latchman - Contract Officer
Dr. Michel Boccara - Molecular Biologist (CIRAD-CP)
10 Technical and Laboratory Assistants
2 Administrative Staff

We also wish to pay tribute to Dr. David Butler for his long term dedication and commitment to the program over the years.

Entry: Holly Houston and Catherine Alston

As our first blog entry and first time attending a WCF sponsored event, we would like to first introduce ourselves to the cocoa community. We, Holly Houston and Catherine Alston, are excited to have recently joined the World Cocoa Foundation as part of the new Cocoa Livelihoods Program which Bill detailed in his February 19th entry. The multi-faceted program is steadily ramping up in West and Central Africa and we are thrilled to be a part of this effort that promises to have great impact on cocoa farming dependent communities.

The picturesque US Botanic Garden here in Washington, DC hosted our “Chocolate from the Rainforest” event last Thursday night. There was a great turn-out of attendees including H.E. Ambassador Koffi of Cote d’Ivoire, H.E. Ambassador Parnohadiningrat of Indonesia, H.E. Ambassador Gaa of the Philippines, and supporters from the Department of State, USAID, and USDA / ARS. Cocoa industry leaders were also in attendance as well as WCF partner organizations; we are grateful for their continued support and interest.

Holly Shimizu, Executive Director of the US Botanic Garden, kicked off the evening highlighting the new cocoa displays at the Garden, including the informative “New Age of Chocolate” exhibit that details the latest scientific research on chocolate. Be sure to check it out on your next visit!

Bill Guyton and Tracey Duffey welcomed the attendees, including one first-time visitor to Washington, DC – our newest Cocoa Borlaug fellow, Muhammad Junaid from Indonesia who has been in the US for a little over a week working with his mentor Gary Samuels from the USDA/ARS. We welcome Junaid and are excited to see the fruits of this partnership.

Wanda Collins, Director of Plant Sciences at the USDA/ARS, emphasized the importance of sustainability for the cocoa farming industry – cocoa is a crucial element for numerous complimentary agricultural industries in the US and is the principal source of income for many developing countries’ citizens. Commitment and investment to scientific research, farmer capacity building, and supply chain improvements are necessary to the future of the industry. Such commitment was represented by Thursday night’s attendees and we are grateful for the continued support by industry, NGO, and government leaders.

A chocolate event would not be complete of course without the enjoyment of consumption! A true aficionado of all things chocolate, Ed Seguine, Chocolate Research Fellow of Mars Chocolate North America, offered a wonderful tasting of dark chocolate from around the world – West Africa, Venezuela, Madagascar/Peru, Trinidad and the Philippines. The night concluded on a delicious note with a variety of flavors from nutty to floral – all beautifully described and skillfully guided by Mr. Seguine.

Entry: Bill Guyton

Today I read the article below, describing some of the recent actions taken by the Government of Ghana and partners to ensure that farming is grown safely and responsibly for cocoa growing communities in the Asutifi District of Brong Ahafo. While communities are sensitized about child labour in cocoa, farmers also have the opportunity to learn about other important information on cocoa farming, including controlling diseases and pests and post-harvest practices. More information can be found on the following website: www.childprotection.gov.gh

World Cocoa Foundation supports several programs in West and Central Africa which directly work with cocoa farming communities including the Sustainable Tree Crops Program (STCP), ECHOES and FHI Health Program.

COCOBOD organises workshop on child labour

Mr. Bernard Brown, Goaso District manager of the Division, said the introduction of a new grading system to detect purple cocoa beans was to streamline the internal controls in the cocoa industry. Mr. Francis Forfoe, district welfare officer, underscored the promotion of widespread acceptance and observance of the convention on the rights of the child and enforcement of the Children's Act of 1998. He advised parents to enroll their children in schools to enable them to become responsible citizens in future.

Entry: Bill Guyton

Today, the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) and the Swedish Chocolate, Confectionery and Biscuit Manufacturers’ Association (CHOKOFA) announced a new occupational safety and health project. The 18-month project will focus on farmer training and development of innovative technologies in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. press release.

Dr. Sonii David will lead the effort of developing training modules on occupational safety and health. She is an extension specialist working at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture/Sustainable Tree Crops Program (IITA/STCP). The modules will be used in conjunction with ongoing farmer field school programs to reinforce concepts during training sessions and serve as a reference guide for farm families. The farmer field school methodology is an interactive training approach that emphasizes learning-by-doing. The training modules and materials will be piloted in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana with an initial group of 930 farmers. By the conclusion of the project, the materials will be available for use by other programs and institutions in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. The materials will be readily adaptable for use in other countries.

In addition to the farmer training activities, the project has a challenge grant component that provides funding for the development of innovations in the areas of farm safety, farm level innovations and health education materials. A total of two grants will be awarded to Ivorian research institutes, national universities or non-governmental organizations as part of the 2009 World Cocoa Foundation Challenge Grants Program.

We at World Cocoa Foundation would like to extend our thanks to Håkan Björklund, Director General of the Swedish Chocolate, Confectionery and Biscuit Manufacturers’ Association for helping to support this important effort. We look forward to working with our colleauges in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire over the coming months.

Entry: Rhodina Cena

I am Ms. Rhodina B. Cena from the University of Southern Mindanao (USM), Kabacan, North Cotabato, Philippines. In June 2008, I applied for the Norman E Borlaug Science and Technology Fellowship Program. And in July, 2008 I was awarded the fellowship. Arrangements were then made by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Services (FAS) in Manila, and the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF), for me to go to the USDA-Agricultural Research Services (USDA-ARS)-Crop Protection and Management Research Unit (CPMRU) in Tifton, Georgia for training on artificial diet under the kind supervision of my Mentor, Dr. James E. Carpenter, an Entomologist.

March 20, 2009, 10:00pm: My first international flight for 26 hrs was via Philippines Airline, US Airways and Delta Airline. The long flight was for me uneventful and sleepless. When I landed at Valdosta Airport (March 21, 9:10pm), I was greeted by a chilly spring evening. At the arrival area, Dr. Carpenter and his two lovely grand daughters approached me and we travel to Tifton for 1 hr to the house owned by Brandon and Jodie Jones where I was comfortably accommodated for eight week period of my fellowship. My weekend indeed offered the first few pleasant experience and less pleasant experiences: extremely cold weather, drastic changes in biological clock (Philippine time is 12 hours earlier than Georgia, USA); but yes, I leisurely went to the Wal-Mart Store to purchase some foodstuff (with Jodie) and a lunch with Jodie Jones family.

The training program started on March 23, 2009, which was preceded by a brief orientation about the USDA-ARS and their research mission, and an introduction to the heads and staff of the CPRMU laboratory.

During the second week of the fellowship, Dr. Carpenter and I visited the Biological Control Rearing Facility of the Department of Plant Industries in Gainesville, Florida. Their well-equipped laboratories were buzzing with anything that had to do with mass rearing of insects. Staffs were at hand to share a summary of their research. A few days later, we went to Petite Bois Island in Mississippi where we conducted a monitoring of Cactus Moth. On this trip I was privileged to meet another USDA-ARS entomologist and technical assistants. My opportunity to see these locations was in itself a unique experience.

(left to right) Chris, John, Dr. Stephen Hight, me and Dr. Jim Carpenter (my mentor) during our field visit at Petite Bois Island, Mississippi.

Entry: Muhammad Junaid

My name is Muhammad Junaid but my friends like to call me Jun. I come from Hasanuddin University (UNHAS, the Departement of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture) under the Educational Ministry of Indonesia, located in Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Since I was selected as a fellow for the Norman E. Borlaug Fellowship Program, sponsored by the World Cocoa Foundation and the USDA in August 2008, I started dreaming about flying to the US for the first time.

On March 25, 2009, I departed from the Sultan Hasanuddin Airport in South Sulawesi and transited via Jakarta and Singapore before I finally arrived at night in Dulles Airport on March 26, 2009. For the first time, I met with my mentor, Dr. Gary J. Samuels, who came to pick me up at the airport, after a few months of intense communication through email. He is a fungus taxonomist in the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC) - Systematic Microbiology and Mycology Laboratory (SMML) - USDA.

It has only been 3 weeks since my arrival, but I have already had many great experiences:
During my first week, Gary introduced me to his staff, including Dr. Amy Rossman who is a leader in the SMML research. I also met a couple of foreign researchers from Panama, Korea, Japan and Brazil, with whom I enjoy sharing lunch and discussing about each other’s research progress. The aim of my research is to learn about molecular identification of DNA sequence and PCR tehnique Oncobasidium, and potential fungal to use in bio-control.Below, you can see me working in Gary’s room to indentify fungus endophite from a cocoa tissue from Indonesia, which I was able to identify clearly with Gary’s microscope.

On April 2, Gary and I were invited by the WCF to a “Chocolate from the Rainforest” reception that was held at the U.S. Botanic Garden. While there, I met with a lot people, including the Ambassador of Indonesia and his delegation. Although I was a bit nervous, it was a great honor for me to be recognized in front of them as a participant in the Cocoa Borlaug Fellows Program.
During this month of April, Gary and I have been working extensively:
During the first week, we had the pleasure to receive a visit from Catherine Chesnutt and Abiola Adeyemi, respectively the International Training Specialist and the International Affairs Specialist at FAS/USDA. While they were here at the SMML, we discussed my research activities and also visited the lab.

It is my hope that this research will improve not only my skills but also benefit my home institution.

Later, on April 18-19, I joined a plant pathology seminar in Beltsville where I was invited to speak and present my work. This seminar was attended by students from colleges from other states.
Next on my agenda is the Pennsylvania Manufacturing Confectioners’ Association (PMCA) conference that will be held in Hershey, Pennsylvania from April 27-29, that I will attend together with Rhodina Cena, a Cocoa Borlaug Fellow from the Philippines. WCF has arranged to combine this trip with visits to chocolate manufacturers and processors which is going to be a very exciting and new experience for us.

I am very grateful to have been chosen for this program which is giving me opportunities for the future.