In an effort to increase smallholder production of cocoa in Cote d'Ivoire and West Africa more broadly, the World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF) and the chocolate company, Mars, Inc.
have joined together under the Vision for Change: Sustainable Cocoa Communities project to undertake a series of activities and research to develop improved cocoa varieties, secure markets and look for climate change adaptation and mitigation opportunities.
20 November 2012: In an effort to increase smallholder production of cocoa in Cote d’Ivoire and West Africa more broadly, the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) and the chocolate company, Mars, Inc. have joined together under the “Vision for Change: Sustainable Cocoa Communities” project to undertake a series of activities and research to develop improved cocoa varieties, secure markets and look for climate change adaptation and mitigation opportunities.
The collaboration in Cote d’Ivoire has resulted in the training of communities and local government around community development plans, and has led to increased investment in social infrastructure. Investments through this partnership may also help revitalize existing, but poorly producing cocoa farms. The rehabilitation of cocoa farms involves refreshing under-producing cocoa trees by grafting them with improved high-yielding, disease- and pest-resistant cultivars. Complementing this field work, the project has contributed to the opening of the Centre National de Recherche Agronomique (CNRA) in Cote d’Ivoire, which will provide opportunities to work on increasing the resilience of cocoa crops to diseases and pests like the cocoa pod borer. In addition, ICRAF will help transfer agroforestry techniques to local communities through the establishment of nurseries and research on optimal cocoa production practices. ICRAF will also examine the dynamics of forest cover change in the region.
The Vision for Change project has already seen success through work in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Mars’ ten-year investment in Cote d’Ivoire will aim to increase sustainable cocoa production with field activities that are expected to reach 150,000 farmers. However, with its scalable approach, it could potentially reach millions of smallholder farmers.
ICRAF is a member of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). [Vision for Change in Cote d’Ivoire Videos] [Cocoa for Sustainability] [ICRAF Press Release] [Sustainable Cocoa Initiative] [Sustainable Cocoa Initiative Post]