BETTER QUALITY COCOA MEANS A BETTER LIVELIHOOD FOR FARMERS IN SULAWESI

COUNTRY: Sulawesi, Indonesia
THEME: Economic

On the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia, local farmers have learned the valuable contribution that cocoa can make to their incomes, but maintaining the quality of their cocoa is a constant challenge. To help the farmers as they work towards sustaining their rural livelihoods, Mars, Inc. has been working in partnership with a Dutch development agency to introduce improved farming techniques designed to promote quality. This collaboration is known as the PRIMA project.

Quality is of fundamental importance to any chocolate manufacturer and poorly farmed or harvested cocoa beans will struggle to find buyers. With this background, the PRIMA Project offers an innovative approach to smallholder integration in the global cocoa supply chain. By focusing on quality and pipeline management, farmers can be empowered to reduce their vulnerability to market forces.

A major threat to cocoa quality comes from pests and diseases that can be responsible for the loss of as much as 30 percent of the annual crop. In Sulawesi, cocoa pod borer (CPB) is a particular threat to productivity and yields. Training programs organized by the PRIMA Project demonstrate to farmers that by concentrating on good husbandry, including frequent harvesting, pruning and sanitation, it is possible to reduce the devastating impact of CPB.

Alongside this training, the PRIMA Project is also running a series of field experiments and trials to compare different approaches to controlling CPB. The research has made a significant contribution to the understanding of various new control methods, including the use of black ants and bio-insecticides to reduce the need for chemical interventions.

Work on the PRIMA Project has also identified the key role for farming organizations. The successful adoption of improved cultivation methods is significantly higher among those farmers who are organized into farmer groups, especially those linked into supply chain structures which offer a high degree of transparency in terms of quality dependent price differentials. This finding reinforces the benefits of linking extension activities with direct marketing opportunities.

A major factor in the PRIMA collaboration has been the proactive role adopted by Mars' local business, P.T. Effem. P.T. Effem has actively engaged with farmer organizations and is experimenting with direct purchases from a network of farmer groups. This innovative approach is in its infancy but is clearly built around quality-driven price signals that farmers can see in operation, and which are a clear incentive to meeting quality standards.

The success of the PRIMA Project is due to many factors, none more than the determination of the local Mars team to make a real difference in Sulawesi's rural cocoa growing areas. The time invested in developing and nurturing partnerships yielded many results, including economic success and an improvement in quality, productivity and yields.

The proposed environmental techniques are bio-friendly, and the emerging farmers' groups are building strong, new community links. All of the outputs have been designed with sustainability firmly in mind, taking into consideration cocoa's environmental, economic and social impacts.

If this case study on cocoa farming in Sulawesi was interesting, please click on the following link: "Introducing new grafting techniques to combat pests and diseases"

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