Leveraging chocolate in the alternative development formula: ACCESO 

ACCESO, short for the Andean Countries Cacao Export Support Opportunity, is a regional partnership of national governments, international agencies, research institutions, community groups, and the global chocolate industry. It aims to improve competitiveness throughout the entire cacao supply chain from farm to market in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, and increase the number of farming households in those countries producing marketable quality cacao. To achieve these goals, the network facilitates sharing of resources and best practices to enhance existing country-level initiatives and foster the development of new approaches to the production, processing and marketing of cacao.

CICAD joined the initiative because it represented a private-public partnership, forged new links between producers and buying markets, and prioritized information and knowledge sharing, issues which are crucial to overcoming obstacles to viable alternative development in coca-growing areas.

The Andean Region has long been a marginal player in the world cocoa market. About 160,000 families farm nearly 500,000 hectares of cocoa in the region. Ecuador, the region’s only net exporter, the largest Andean producer with about 111,000 metric tons, followed by Colombia with 50,000 mt, Peru with 24,000 mt and Bolivia with 4,000 metric tons. However, there is a window of opportunity for the ACCESO partners because of a shortfall in world production and a premium for organic varieties and quality.

Grower organization increases the ability to apply know-how to farms and make them more productive. In Peru, the ACOPAGRO cooperative has been expanding.

By increasing the yield and quality of cocoa production and improving marketing systems, the crop could become a viable alternative to illicit crops, like coca. But to achieve this goal, ACCESO is focusing on addressing four regional shortcomings:

• Weak organization: Growers operate small plots (3 hectares) that are scattered geographically so there are few viable mechanisms for agricultural extension, management improvement, or innovation of marketing and other strategies.
• Low productivity: Poor farming practices hold down yield and volume and expose the crop to increased risk from disease, all translating into poor yield.
• Quality control: Because of poor post-harvest handling (fermentation and drying) and mixing of cocoa varieties at harvest or storage, regional cocoa growers, with few exceptions, have to overcome issues concerning quality standards.
• Market access: Limited linkages between cocoa growers and buyers (both national and international) undercut the availability of reliable information and smooth, transparent transactions.

CICAD has been closely involved in applying a participative methodology, called Farmer Field Schools, in community extension training to engage local growers as active participants in improving farming, post-harvest and marketing practices so that they can make use of integrated crop management and good farming practices.

Field experience

Post-harvest handling of the cocoa bean is crucial to raising  quality control.

The Tropical Crops Institute (ICT), the project subcontractor in Peru, implemented Farmer Field Schools in the Huallaga and Apurimac river valleys. This farmer-directed approach, originally developed in Ecuador, engages participants in hands-on activities to gain practical experience in relevant subject areas for improved farming techniques that can be immediately applied in their fields. In its first year, ICT trained 796 growers and certified 65 growers as trainers.

In a project evaluation, ICT surveyed 20 Farm Field Schools, representing about 400 farmers in the San Martin and Huanuco areas of Peru in 2006 and found that the approach had significant impact: Average farm income went up to $990 per hectare from $746 before the schools, an increase of 33%. The average yield per hectare increased to 701 kilograms, from 599 kg.

For the final year of the program (ending in mid-2008), the Peruvian partners committed to organizing 233 Farmer Field Schools to reach 5,825 cocoa growers.

The ACCESO work with the FFS methodology has contributed to the formulation of a standardized cocoa farming technology protocol that should assist in getting knowledge and techniques into farmers’ hands.

A native plant of South America, theobroma cacao grows well in the tropics.

Expanding cocoa production still faces major obstacles. There are two major cocoa-specific disease threats: Moniliasis (Moniliophthora roreri) and Witch’s Broom (Crinipellis Pernicosa), can wipe out between 15% and 85% of a crop if they strike in a valley unless farmers practice crop management techniques to minimize the risk. The national crop breeding systems have produced a few disease-resistant cocoa varieties and need to move these locally adapted plant lines from their nurseries out to the farmers. It takes four-five years for cacao seedlings to reach maturity so breeding improvements will be reflected only in the medium term.

ACCESO is also working with the four national governments so that they put viable, medium-term agricultural policies and support programs in place to ensure growers that their investment of scarce resources will mature in a relatively reliable environment. In addition, it is proposing to make domestic and international market information more readily available to growers.

Public-private partnership

The program is backed by the World Cocoa Foundation (private business interests), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Inter-American Institute for Agricultural Cooperation (IICA) and CICAD. In addition, it draws on the support of the governments, producer associations and other stakeholders of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. The project cost a total of $1.4 million over the three-year period, of which CICAD is contributing about US$200,000.

The ACCESO partners are currently evaluating performance and drafting a proposal for a second three-year (2008-2010) plan.

Note: this article was prepared from project documents.