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Indonesian Cocoa Farmers Benefit from Training
FrontLines - March 2009
By Lorin Kavanaugh-Ulku
In the Pirang District of South Sulawesi, a group of farmers who received training from a partnership between USAID, Olam International, and Blommer Chocolate show off their high-quality cocoa beans.
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Farmers and field trainers compare healthy cocoa pods.
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At a cocoa buying station in South Sulawesi, an employee demonstrates
how cocoa is “graded” for sale on the international market.
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Indonesia—A group of farm women sit in a makeshift, open-air classroom, listening to a trainer explain how to properly manage and tend cocoa gardens and help fight pests and crop diseases.
Some leaf through a pamphlet describing how to improve their cocoa gardens, but others take careful notes during the lecture to the Sipakammase Women’s Farmer Group in Pirang District.
“Before the training, we just did some pruning and used fertilizer
but we didn’t really know how to care for the (cocoa) trees properly,” said Irma, a 25-year-old mother of one, who goes by only one name. “Our production was pretty low.”
Irma and her husband were ready to give up on their cocoa trees and started to plant maize instead. Now, the family is already reaping the benefits from the training.
“Today, I can earn more than 1 million rupiah [U.S. $110] on my cocoa beans,” she said proudly with a big smile. “Before I could only get 500,000 rupiah.”
These training sessions can make the difference between success
and failure. Sulawesi’s cocoa industry is plagued with pests and disease, old trees, and local cocoa traders who do not buy the cocoa in a transparent manner.
Indonesia is the world’s third largest cocoa producer, with about 70 percent of that cocoa grown in Sulawesi. On this large, lush island to the east of Java, cocoa production is a way of life for many small farmers. In recent years, however, this booming industry has been hit by seemingly
insurmountable problems.
A farmer in rural South Sulawesi shows off a healthy cocoa pod during a farmer field training session.
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A farmer trainer demonstrates how to properly prune cocoa trees.
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Last year, Sulawesi’s cocoa farmers lost an estimated $127 million to the ravages of a moth-like pest called the cocoa pod borer, and from diseases that blight cocoa trees. Together they can reduce cocoa yields by up to 60 percent and leave the farmer with poor quality cocoa beans. For the small farmers who rely on cocoa for year-round income, the production losses are devastating.
The AMARTA (Agribusiness Market and Support Activity) Sulawesi Kakao Alliance is a partnership between USAID, Olam International, and Blommer Chocolate that was launched Valentine’s Day 2007. It aims to provide farmers greater access to training in cocoa production and post-harvest
techniques. Farmers also visited cocoa buying stations where they learn about the cocoa quality, purchasing, and grading processes. The ultimate goal is to improve the efficiency, productivity,
and product quality of Indonesia’s cocoa industry.
Nearly 12,000 farmers completed
basic farmer-field training;
the goal is to reach 20,000 farmers in Sulawesi. Olam has set up local buying units in South and Southeast Sulawesi, providing farmers with direct access to the major exporter. And, Blommer has agreed to pay a premium of 200 rupiah per kilogram for export-grade Sulawesi cocoa.
For the farmers in Sulawesi, the impact this alliance has had is real. “Before we used to be so desperate
about what to do with our cocoa gardens,” said Tamrin, a 40-year-old farmer who uses only one name. “Now we know how to manage our cocoa and deal with pests so that we can earn more money for our families.”
★
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