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');document.write('World Cocoa Foundation Visits Cocoa Borlaug Fellow Alumnus in Cameroon
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Entry: Catherine Alston, World Cocoa FoundationThe Norman E. Borlaug International Agricultural Science and Technology Fellowship Program?s Global Cocoa Initiative is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and implemented in partnership with the World Cocoa Foundation. The program supports scientists and researchers from select cocoa-producing countries to complete 2-3 month fellowships at a U.S. university or research institute.In May, I had the great pleasure of meeting one of the Cocoa Borlaug Fellow alumni, Christiant Kouebou in Cameroon. Christiant is a food technologist at the Institute of Agricultural Research for Development (IRAD) who conducted his fellowship in the United States in 2008 to work on food science research on cocoa products. Currently, he is working on the development of a chocolate spread that will be full of nutrients, have a long shelf life and will be affordable for the majority of Cameroonians. Christiant and his colleagues are searching for creative solutions that can help to improve the health and nutrition of the people of Cameroon. Here I am pictured (second from left) with Christiant (third from left), and Mbalo Ndiaye of WCF (second from right) with staff of the IRAD facility in Yaoundé.\"cat%20cameroon.jpg\"While in Yaoundé, Christiant took us to meet his colleagues at the University of Yaoundé . There, I spoke with professors and students of the biochemistry department and was very impressed with the scope of research and dedication of the students. Each identified a different food safety or nutrition challenge they are focusing on. Like Christiant, they are using the techniques they have learned in their classes and applying their knowledge to relieve the health concerns of the general population. And, with a mentor such as Christiant who has enhanced his research skills through the Cocoa Borlaug Fellows Program, together they will make great strides in their research.
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');document.write('World Cocoa Foundation Visits Aceh, Indonesia
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Entry: Virginia Sopyla, World Cocoa FoundationLast week, I had the honor to attend the opening ceremony of the first training-of-trainers workshop for Swisscontact?s Proyek untuk Peningkatan Ekonomi Kakao Aceh (PEKA). The project is a Sub-Project Implementing Entity under the Economic Development Financing Facility Project which is supporting economic development activities in areas impacted by the December 2004 tsunami. A group of approximately 50 facilitators and extension agents are participating in a two-week workshop designed to prepare them to lead Farmer Field Schools. The training is being led by a number of subject-area experts including those from World Cocoa Foundation member companies Armajaro and Mars, Inc., as well as experienced technical experts who have worked on successful cocoa programs in other areas of Indonesia. The first 16-week long Farmer Field Schools are scheduled to begin in October. Over the course of a 21-month period, the project will train 12,500 farmers in five districts of Aceh.\"virginia%20aceh.jpg\"Virginia Sopyla, World Cocoa Foundation; Suharman, Component Manager ? Cocoa Production, Swisscontact PEKA; Manfred Borer, PEKA Project Manager, SwisscontactThe opening ceremony was designed to welcome the participants to the training, acknowledge them for their role in improving the livelihoods of Aceh?s cocoa farmers, and to mark the start of the first activities under the project.
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');document.write('World Cocoa Foundation Visits Member Companies in the Dominican Republic
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Entry: Robert Peck, World Cocoa FoundationThis was my first trip to Dominican Republic (DR), a country whose friendly people and great history make it a special place to visit. As a cocoa-producing origin, DR has been a global leader in organizing farmers and incorporating new standards into the production systems to supply cocoa users with certified beans (including organic, Rain Forest, Fair Trade, UTZ and others). I?d like to specifically thank World Cocoa Foundation Members: Commercial Roig and Rizek Cacao for hosting me during this visit. Distances in the DR have a different connotation from other producing origins, as within a 2-hour trip on paved highways you can travel from the country?s capital, Santo Domingo, to major producing areas such as San Francisco De Macoris. I was invited by Gabriel Roig to visit their processing facilities and was highly impressed with the logistic and traceability operations to ferment, dry, clean and pack cocoa while fully separating cocoa batches throughout the entire process. \"robert1.jpg\"From left to right: José María Pantaleon, Gabriel Roig, myself, and Francisco Lopez, during the visit at Commercial Roig?s processing facilities.What made this trip an eye-opening experience is that DR is a showcase for interested parties on implementing and operating cocoa standards in origin countries. From this brief visit, I have some observations to share with you:? BEAN QUALITY ? Having attended various meetings on cocoa certification initiatives, the discussions have sometimes been dominated by discussing implementation challenges and monitoring issues around thousands of farmers in remote areas. The basic physical bean attributes NEED to continue to be the priority. No matter if a cocoa bean is being sold under the conventional market or certified by a specific program, the bean needs to be fermented properly. It will ultimately be processed by equipment that works efficiently when the raw material is uniform and clean. It will ultimately be used by a chocolate company to match a specific flavor profile. Bean quality will continue to be a basic priority.? CONTROLS AND FOLLOWING PROCEDURES ? As simple as it sounds, the ability to maintain records/data and constantly follow guidelines, become the key factors and determinants of a successful, trusted and reliable supply chain. No matter if beans are certified or for a main stream market, reliability and contract specifications are practices that must be fully satisfied by successful cooperatives and exporters. ? TRACEABILITY - Supply chain custody is what is at stake in the DR?s cocoa sector ? a system where consumers of raw materials and finished goods can trace goods purchased back to a specific producer; a system where users of the commodity can monitor this key ingredient throughout the supply chain; a system that allows the exporter to personalize their services and tailor specific cocoa batches to buyer specifications; and a system where farmers incorporate standards into the traditional farming practices. From a farmer?s perspective, the specific scheme he/she decides to implement will redeem additional environmental, social and/or economic benefits. But at the end of the day, the farmer makes a conscious decision and evaluates whether the additional income received offsets the additional effort undertaken to incorporate a new standard in his/her farming practices. \"robert2.jpg\"Myself and José Fernandez.José has side grafted a large percentage of his trees and implemented two different certification standards; although the traditional harvest season is ending, his trees are loaded with pods and flowers for the next batch of pods!
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');document.write('A Visit to the Chocolatier?s Workshop
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Guest Entry: Samuel Orisajo, Cocoa Research Institute of NigeriaFrom March to May 2010, Samuel Orisajo participated in the Norman E. Borlaug International Agricultural Science and Technology Fellowship Program?s Global Cocoa Initiative. The initiative is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture/Foreign Agricultural Service and implemented in partnership with the World Cocoa Foundation. During his fellowship, he had the opportunity to visit several World Cocoa Foundation-member companies.I was privileged to attend the chocolatier?s workshop organized by Cargill in Litiz, Pennsylvania in the company of Tracey Duffey of the World Cocoa Foundation. I participated in the workshop along with small-scale businesspeople involved in chocolate making. We listened to lectures on chocolate tempering methods and were taught the art of making chocolates. I was very excited to make my first ever chocolate in different sizes and shapes as you see me pictured here: \"Samuel%206.jpg\"I took some of the chocolates I made to Nigeria, and it was so delicious! I was later presented with a certificate of attendance. Also, I had the rare opportunity to visit Cargill?s chocolate museum where I saw several molds, ancient wares and instruments used in chocolate making from the past, and several sizes and brands of chocolate. My appreciation goes to Courtney LeDrew, Joe Sofia, Amanda Frey and a host of tutors at Cargill for their facilitation.
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');document.write('World Cocoa Foundation at the National Education Association Exposition
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Entry: Charlie Feezel, World Cocoa FoundationLast week, I attended the Exposition at the National Education Association?s 2010 Annual Meeting and Representative Assembly in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was moving to be among thousands who have dedicated their careers to improving the lives of countless numbers of children. I shared a good deal of information about the World Cocoa Foundation and our programs and found great interest in what we are doing to improve the lives of African children through our Empowering Cocoa Households with Opportunities and Education Solutions (ECHOES) program in Côte d?Ivoire and Ghana. I also heard some good ideas on how we might improve ECHOES by involving more American teachers. \"charlie%20expo.jpg\"First grade teacher Danette Espindola discusses program suggestions at the World Cocoa Foundation boothPotentially, the best idea came from a first grade teacher at Westside Elementary in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. Pictured here at the WCF booth with me, she suggested we create a program of short visits of teacher exchanges in which teachers may evaluate programs, conduct or participate in trainings and come up with other ideas to expand and improve the ECHOES program. We hope to integrate activities like these as ECHOES continues.ECHOES, a public-private partnership between USAID?s Africa Education Division and the World Cocoa Foundation with some of its members, strengthens basic and livelihoods education in cocoa-growing communities in Ghana and Côte d?Ivoire.
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');document.write('Innovative Approaches to Strengthening Rural Education
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Entry: David Noyes, World Cocoa FoundationWith the ECHOES program, the World Cocoa Foundation is using innovative approaches to strengthen cocoa-farming communities in Ghana and Côte d\'Ivoire through education and livelihoods activities. In an effort to deliver relevant education to an even greater number of youth and young adults in these communities, ECHOES is establishing a number of ICT-enabled community resource centers. ICT stands for ?information and communications technology.? The first of these centers has recently been opened in Nkonya, a small cocoa-farming community in the Western Region of Ghana. \"classroom.jpg\"Junior high school students at the Nkonya resource center learning the basics of the keyboard and typing. The class is led by two youth from the community who have been trained in ICT under ECHOES. The Nkonya center is equipped with computers that are specially designed to operate in conditions where the power supply is unreliable and temperatures are very high. The computers in the Nkonya center use solar power, consume very little energy, do not overheat (eliminating the need for air conditioning), and use flash memory for storage. The centers are also equipped with a video projector, photocopier, scanner, printer and an eGranary digital library. The eGranary is an external hard drive that has been loaded with thousands of web pages such as the open source encyclopedia Wikipedia. It also includes a search feature, allowing for simulated Internet access. Mr. Kwarteng, the head teacher at the Junior High School in Nkonya, told me that ?the coming of the center was a blessing.? He said that this year, students in their third year of junior high must take exams that include a portion on ICT. Most children in the rural areas have never seen a computer before, and teachers would be forced to teach ICT by drawing a picture of a computer on the chalkboard and describing how it works. Since the center has opened, students have been coming to weekly classes, and are learning basic computer skills from youth in the community that have been trained by ECHOES staff. Mr. Kwarteng says that now that they are learning ICT, the students are more eager to come to school, and he has noticed a reduction in absenteeism. \"computer%20flag.jpg\"Junior high school student demonstrating how to draw the Ghanaian flag. While visiting the center on a weekend to do some work on one of the computers, several students came by to use the computers as well. After finishing up my work, I walked around to see what the students were up to and witnessed something that reaffirmed an observation that I have made before about youth and technology - knowledge diffuses very quickly. With a little help from a friend that already knows how to do something on the computer (perhaps through participating in a training), someone who has not received training can learn very quickly. For instance, one of the children had learned how to draw the Ghanaian flag using a drawing program on the computer. Several children sat around him and watched while he explained how he did it, and soon they were all drawing the flag on the other computers. For me, this is a nice example of how the use of ICT can facilitate self-directed learning that is driven by the learner?s needs and interests. This is exactly the kind of capacity WCF supports through the ECHOES program.
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');document.write('Changing Perceptions on Cocoa Farming
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Entry: David Noyes, World Cocoa FoundationI recently had the opportunity to make a trip to Ghana to monitor progress being made on strengthening basic education and livelihoods through the ECHOES program. ECHOES is the World Cocoa Foundation\'s rural education program that builds capacity in cocoa-farming communities through programs combining literacy, livelihoods, and entrepreneurial activities. On a trip to Yawkrom, a small community of a few thousand people predominately engaged in cocoa farming, I had the chance to meet with Mr. J. K., a graduate of the out-of-school youth agricultural livelihoods program. This is a 12-month program where youth and young adults learn modern methods of cocoa farming, entrepreneurship and leadership skills, and are sensitized to HIV/AIDS, malaria, and child labor. Prior to the training, Mr. J. K. said that he did not see cocoa farming as a business; it was just something that he did to occupy himself and provide some income to support his family. He told me that, after completing the training, he now sees that when properly done cocoa farming can be quite a good business. Using the techniques learned in the program, he expects to more than triple his yields once his newly-planted farm begins producing. Laughing he told me, ?If you ask a child in school if they want to be a cocoa farmer, most will say ?no?, they do not want to do it. But this is because they do not yet know that when done properly, cocoa farmers can make even more money than their school teachers!? He pointed out that with the ECHOES in-school agricultural livelihoods program, the school children are beginning to see this now as well. \"07.02.2010.JPG\"Mr. J.K. in front of one of his new cocoa trees. As a result of following the training received under ECHOES, Mr. J.K\'s trees are growing at a very healthy rate.After graduating from the program, Mr. J. K. received a tool kit along with hybrid cocoa seedlings to plant his new cocoa farm. We made the long trek through the forest to visit his farm and see how it was doing a little over one year after having been planted. When using traditional methods, cocoa trees usually take several years before they begin to flourish and produce cocoa. With the new techniques he has learned (use of hybrid cocoa seeds, line and pegging to ensure proper tree spacing, use of shade trees and leguminous trees to enrich the soil), Mr. J. K. has trees that are already several feet tall and should begin to produce pods next year.
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');document.write('University of Arkansas Project Team Visit to Ghana
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Guest Entry: Dr. Lawton Lanier Nalley (Agricultural Economist), Mansoor Leh (Agricultural Engineer), and Eric Cummings (Agricultural Engineer), University of ArkansasWe had the opportunity to travel to Ghana from Monday May, 24 to Wednesday, June 1 as part of our environmental impact assessment for the World Cocoa Foundation Cocoa Livelihoods Program (CLP). Our travel and agenda were facilitated by the CLP Program Director Mbalo Ndiaye. While in country, we were able to meet with government, industry, and research entities to discuss our collection of data related to cocoa production in West Africa. The majority of our time was spent in Accra meeting with different agencies and individuals. We were also able to make two site visits to see firsthand cocoa production and research. The first visit took us to the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG) in Tafo. For the second site visit, we traveled to the Ashanti region to visit a CLP Farmer Field School in the community of Amomorso.\"holly%20blog%202.jpg\"Farmer Field School Class members meeting in an Amomorso cocoa farmDuring our time in Accra, we met with many individuals and entities that had information which will be instrumental to the environmental impact assessment portion of CLP. These included meetings with the Ghana Cocoa Board, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture/Sustainable Tree Crops Program (IITA/STCP), Ghana EPA, the Water Resources Commission, the Water Research Institute, the International Water Management Institute, the University of Ghana Center for Remote Sensing and GIS, Cadbury Ghana, Weinco, and the Tema port facilities.Our trip to CRIG included meetings with multiple researchers with different specialties to give a holistic view of cocoa production. We discussed different production practices, inputs, and cocoa varieties associated with cocoa production in Ghana. The visit also included a tour of the varietal trials and seedling nursery located on the CRIG experiment station.Our farm visit to the community of Amomorso presented us with the opportunity to not only document some of the cocoa production practices, but to also experience the on-the-ground efforts of the World Cocoa Foundation CLP training. The attentiveness of the farmers to the CLP trainers was pleasant to see.\"holly%20blog%203.jpg\"Dr. Lanier discussing farming inputs with Farmer Field School membersWe look forward to continuing our work with CLP and hope we have the opportunity to visit Ghana again in the future.
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');document.write('Visit to Cocoa Livelihoods Program Community in Ghana
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Entry: Holly Houston, World Cocoa FoundationLast week, I had the opportunity to travel to Ghana to meet with several of our partners in the Cocoa Livelihoods Program (CLP). During the first part of the trip, I traveled to the Ashanti region with the CLP Program Director, Mbalo Ndiaye and several agricultural researchers from the University of Arkansas who are working on a CLP study of environmental impact of improved cocoa production. We visited the CLP community of Amomorso, in the newly formed Bosome-Freho District, where about 95% of the working population is comprised of cocoa farmers. Following a well-worn footpath into the cocoa farm, we were able to observe a farmer training school that meets once every 2 weeks in a clearing of the farm from March to December. The group of about 40 farmers had studied three different tree plots on the farm and created posters of their findings, including moisture of the soil, number of healthy versus diseased pods, distance between trees, and insects in the area. Each group chose a representative to present their findings to the larger group and a question and answer period followed. The discussion was led by a local facilitator who was chosen from the community to be trained by CLP-partner the Sustainable Tree Crops Program. The facilitator takes instruction and knowledge back to his or her community. \"holly%20blog.jpg\"During the group session, the facilitator asked the farmers what they had learned from comparing higher-producing trees with lower-producing ones, and farmers were eager to share their opinions and own experiences. A noteworthy observation was the level of participation by women cocoa farmers who made up about 40% of the group and were some of the most vocal. Our group posed several questions to the farmers including how many had purchased fertilizer and/or fungicide in the past year ? only a handful raised their hands. Also, we passed a newly-constructed local bank in the neighboring community and asked if any were participating in banking services. A few members stated they had been approached to start a savings account ? a few had expressed interest. To move beyond core production training skills, the Cocoa Livelihoods Program will work to train these farmers in business skills to view and manage their farms as a business ? including keeping records, analyzing the costs and benefits of inputs, establishing a need for use of banking services, and improving access to credit. We look forward to working with communities like Amomorso and seeing the impact of improving livelihoods of cocoa farmers across Ghana and other CLP countries.
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');document.write('Nigerian Cocoa Borlaug Fellows Participate in Educational Tour
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Entry: Joseph Anikwe, Cocoa Research Institute of NigeriaOne integral part of the programmes slated for the PMCA Conference was the Student Outreach Programme. I joined my colleague Samuel Orisajo, who is currently a Cocoa Borlaug Fellow, as well as 27 other students from selected universities across the United States for this outreach programme. It was indeed a forum for interactions and exchange of ideas among students in this year?s programme. The student outreach programme reached its peak with a facility tour of Mars Snackfood in Elizabethtown on April 26, 2010. It was a highly informative experience. The student outreach ended with an interactive session between students and their mentors alongside a farewell lunch. \"Mars%201.jpg\"Joseph Anikwe and Samuel Orisajo at the Mars facility in Elizabethtown. The World Cocoa Foundation also facilitated a visit to some member companies in Pennsylvania and New Jersey for us. The companies visited included: The Hershey Company, Barry Callebaut and Camden International Commodities Terminal. The processes involved from ?bean to bar? were practically seen. The interactions, ideas shared and questions raised will go a long way in charting a new course of research for the two of us when we return to our home country. I wish to use this medium to express my profound gratitude to the World Cocoa Foundation for organizing this trip. Thank you.
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');document.write('?64th PMCA Conference: Sharing my experience!
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Entry: Joseph Anikwe, Cocoa Research Institute of NigeriaThe Norman E. Borlaug International Agricultural Science & Technology Fellowship Program?s Global Cocoa Initiative is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and implemented in partnership with the World Cocoa Foundation. \"joseph1.jpg\"My name is Joseph Anikwe, and I was a USDA Cocoa Borlaug Fellow in 2008. I was invited to present a paper at the recently concluded 64th Pennsylvania Manufacturing Confectioners Association (PMCA) Annual Production Conference which was held from April 26 to 28, 2010. I presented a paper titled ?A Visit to a Cocoa-Growing Community in Nigeria?. The presentation, studded with video clips and pictures, took the audience on a virtual visit to Iloro-Idanre, a cocoa-growing community in Nigeria. I described the culture and daily lives of cocoa-growing families both in the farm and in the communities in which they live, as well as the challenges confronting cocoa farmers across West Africa. The presentation highlighted the community at a glance, starting with the narrow road leading to Iloro-Idanre and also showing how the farmers construct their houses with rectangular concrete slabs in front to allow for easy drying of their cocoa beans. Cocoa growing is the main economic activity of the rural dwellers in Iloro-Idanre. However, cocoa is cultivated with other food crops, and these food crops come handy during the cocoa off-season periods. Most farmers own motor bikes with which they transport themselves and family members, while agricultural products such as cocoa beans are transported to the cities with trucks. The meals from the community are always garnished with bush meat caught by traps set in the farms by farmers. Medical care is available at a government health care centre in a neighbouring village called Ita-Olorun Idanre while visiting health workers give inoculations to children. Elementary school for the children of these cocoa farmers is located about a mile away from Iloro-Idanre. Men in the village enjoy drinking a local beer called palm wine which is obtained from the palm tree. They are found in groups playing the local game called Ayo in the evenings. A major festival celebrated by the people of Iloro-Idanre is the annual new yam festival.The lifestyle of the people of Iloro-Idanre is strongly tied to their occupation, which is simply farming. In the presentation, I described how cocoa beans are planted in the nursery and nurtured in the field up until harvesting. Thereafter, post-harvest handling issues were described. I noted that the cocoa farmers from this community have benefited from the Farmer Field School (FFS) training programmes and these have imparted on their knowledge of good agricultural practice. Therefore, these farmers know the right time to harvest their cocoa pods, adhere to proper fermentation procedures and proper drying of their cocoa beans. These training programmes were first supported by USAID, the World Cocoa Foundation and industry. Today that support has expanded to include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the federal and state governments of Nigeria, and individual communities. This is aimed at improved farm management with lower crop losses and costs. However, the inaccessible road network, poor standard of living, lack of infrastructural development and lack of improved planting materials, as well as the prohibitive cost of farm inputs have remained daunting challenges to increased cocoa productivity.
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');document.write('Improving African Women?s Access to Agriculture Training Programs
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Entry: Catherine Alston, World Cocoa FoundationRecently, I was asked to contribute to the Nourishing the Planet blog. You?ll find below the text of my guest blog entry. \"nourishingtheplanet.jpg\"Women small-holder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa are greatly impacted by both the economic realities facing their region and the cultural gender biases ingrained in their society. Even though these women spend a significant portion of their time and energy supporting their agricultural livelihoods, they are even less likely to have access to training programs, credit and input supplies such as improved seedlings than their male counterparts. So the fundamental questions are - how can we improve women?s access to agriculture development programs, minimize the cultural barriers in place, and empower them to take actions that will increase their income and enhance the wellbeing of their family? The World Cocoa Foundation recognizes the potential impact that can be made in household incomes in West and Central Africa through outreach with cocoa farmers. The region accounts for nearly 70% of the world?s cocoa production, 90% of which is grown on nearly 2 million small family farms (averaging 2 hectares or less). Almost 16 million people depend on this crop for their main source in income. The World Cocoa Foundation is proud to support and manage programs that are designed to affect the lives and livelihoods of cocoa-farming communities by encouraging sustainable, responsible cocoa growing. Moreover, it is well recognized that women are more likely to support their families? welfare and their children?s education with any additional income; because of this, we strive to include a greater population of women cocoa farmers in all of our programs to ensure that they are directly empowered to strengthen the lives of their families. One of the many training approaches in Africa supported by the World Cocoa Foundation is the Farmer Field School methodology, where women and men gain hands-on training on proper production, pest and disease management and post-harvest techniques. This approach is utilized in Cameroon, Côte d?Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia and Nigeria. When it was recognized that female participation and engagement was low in the field schools due to limited available time and cultural constraints, a shift was made to create a convenient and comfortable learning environment for women utilizing videos to provide similar training exercises. The Video Viewing Club was developed by the Sustainable Tree Crops Program through a grant from the World Cocoa Foundation. These clubs were designed to bring together, married and single women cocoa farmers. The farmers and their trained facilitator, watch training films, review the provided manuals and participate in guided discussions and hands-on field activities. The facilitator educates the group on the same topics as the Farmer Field Schools and the participants are encouraged to not only implement the techniques they have learned, but to share their knowledge with others in their community. The videos are often in a soap-opera dramatization, which is both entertaining and educational for the audience. To date, nearly 1,600 farmers in Côte d?Ivoire and Ghana have received cocoa production training through the Video Viewing Clubs.The Video Viewing Clubs, which began in 2006, have proven to be a successful way to reach out to women and support them as they take the initiative to improve their cocoa production and their family?s livelihood. One participant, Victoria Boadi of Ghana, nearly tripled her cocoa yields following her participation in the Video Viewing Club, and through this increase in income she was able to better provide for herself and her five children. The World Cocoa Foundation is committed to improving the lives of men and women cocoa farmers in West and Central Africa through sustainable programs and has chosen to continue this successful video training platform in the Cocoa Livelihoods Program. This five year initiative started in 2009 thanks to a partnership between the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Cocoa Foundation and is further supported by 15 cocoa/chocolate companies and the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The primary objective of the Cocoa Livelihoods Program is to double the income of farmers in West and Central Africa and the Video Viewing Clubs will be just one of the ways in which the program will work to ensure that women cocoa farmers have greater access to this initiative and our goal of boosting their livelihoods. The World Cocoa Foundation is excited to be a strategic part of this collaboration and looks forward to working with women cocoa farmers so that they will have success stories similar to Victoria?s.
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');document.write('Cameroon Farmer Organizations: Working Together to Improve Cocoa Farming and Marketing
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Entry: Bill Guyton, World Cocoa FoundationThis past week, I had the opportunity to visit and learn from cocoa farmers and partners in Cameroon. I traveled here with representatives from leading chocolate and cocoa companies, non-governmental organizations, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to formally launch the Cocoa Livelihoods Program (CLP) which will reach over 27,000 small-scale cocoa farmers in Cameroon. This is part of a larger regional program aimed at increasing the incomes of nearly 200,000 cocoa farmers through innovations in farming and marketing practices. The Cameroon Ministries of Agriculture and Trade both joined us for an official signing of the program on Thursday (May 6). Although much of our time was spent discussing the program activities, a highlight of the week was visiting members of the SOCOPLAUCCOM farmer cooperative in Mengnang, Cameroon. This village is situated about 100 kilometers from Yaoundé, in a heavily-forested area. \"nursury.jpg\"Commercial cocoa nursuriesCooperative leaders showed us their commercial tree nurseries, which were initially supported through the Sustainable Tree Crops Program (STCP) and IRAD (Cameroon\'s national agricultural research institute). Farmers mentioned the desire to further strengthen the cooperative and to develop a youth agriculture club. I leave Cameroon with a positive impression and better understanding of the needs of cocoa farmers based on these field experiences. World Cocoa Foundation public-private partnership programs, such as the Sustainable Tree Crops Program and Cocoa Livelihoods Program, are helping to make a difference for cocoa-farming families in Cameroon. We thank all of the partners for their support. \"Cameroon.jpg\"Members from the SOCOPLAUCCOM farmer cooperative in Mengnang welcome visitors
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');document.write('Youth Create Cocoa Planting Guide for Community
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Entry: David Noyes, World Cocoa FoundationHow can you convey a complex cocoa planting matrix to an entire community at minimal cost? During my most recent trip with the ECHOES program, I had the chance to see the innovative approaches to this issue that cocoa farming youth have initiated in their own communities. I was particularly encouraged by the work that out-of-school youth have done in Nkonya, Ghana to build a cocoa-planting guide (below) as an education tool near their cocoa demonstration plot. The World Cocoa Foundation?s rural education program, ECHOES, is improving the quality and relevance of education and expanding opportunities for youth and young adults in cocoa-farming communities in Ghana and Côte d?Ivoire. One of the approaches used in the ECHOES program is to establish school demonstration plots. The demonstration plot in Nkonya belongs to the school, and was planted in a specific pattern, with interspersed cocoa trees, plantain trees for shade and food, and nitrogen-fixing leguminous tree crops that enrich the soil and reduce the need for chemical fertilizers (while providing additional shade). The demonstration plots provide practical learning opportunities for the youth who maintain the plots. In addition, these plots provide an example to the entire community on how to correctly plant cocoa. To help achieve this second goal, out-of-school youth beneficiaries in Nkonya helped to construct a plan for the demonstration plot on a large concrete slab so that it would be clearly visible to the entire community. One youth (a graduate of the ECHOES literacy program, now an active member in the livelihoods program) explained to me that the plan indicates the correct spacing of the cocoa trees (3m x 3m, and marked by a ?C? on the plan below) and indicates how the plantain trees (?P?) and leguminous trees (?L?) should be planted in the rows between the cocoa. This plan and demonstration plot will serve as a guide for those with already established cocoa plots, as well as for future generations of farmers interested in learning about cocoa farming. \"Planting%20Map.jpg\"Figure 1 - ECHOES out-of-school youth beneficiary in front of demonstration plot in Nkonya, Ghana with community members, implementing partners, and a visitor from the Ghana Education Service. Prior participants in the program now can use the plan to explain correct cocoa-farming techniques to visitors or their peers.
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');document.write('Literacy Empowers Youth to Improve Livelihoods
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Entry: Charlie Feezel, World Cocoa FoundationThis blog was contributed by Rose Donatien, an International Educator for Africa volunteer from the International Foundation for Education and Self-Help (IFESH) working on the ECHOES program in Cote d?Ivoire.The World Cocoa Foundation?s rural education project, ECHOES, has been working to improve the lives of youth and young adults in Côte d?Ivoire through an integrated approach that links basic education and livelihoods. Two components of the program that embody this approach are the functional literacy classes and the agricultural livelihoods training for out-of-school youth. Thanks to the impact of the literacy program in Biéby, Mr. Charles N?Din Koba has learned to read and write. Charles registered for the program with no previous education experience. He had never been to school. To date, Charles had one of the highest scores in the literacy final exam. According to his tutor Mr. Christien Sombo, Charles never missed a day of class. ?He often comes to me after class and asks for assistance,? said his tutor. Charles borrows the manual to take home and practices in his free time. During the reading test of the final exam, I congratulated Charles for his progress and efforts, a perfect score of 50/50. With a great big smile, Charles thanked me and thanked IFESH for the opportunity and his accomplishments. Later that evening some of the learners and tutors visited me. The manual was on a table and I noticed Charles thumbing through it. He stopped at the foreword and said, ?When I first opened this book in class I made it my goal to be able to read these paragraphs and to understand what these letters I.F.E.S.H really mean, and now I can read them and I thank you and IFESH for the difference you have made in my life.? He then continued to read and asked for help when needed. This year Charles has enrolled in the ECHOES agricultural livelihoods training being implemented by Winrock International. He is attending weekly agriculture classes with Mr. Sauveur Camara, the Winrock field agent in the region. As a result of his participation in the literacy classes, Charles is now able to take notes in the agriculture classes. At the end of the nine-month agriculture training, Charles will plant a new field of cocoa, using the improved farming techniques learned in class.ECHOES is a partnership with WCF, a group of its member companies, and the U.S. Agency for International Development?s Africa Education Initiative. ECHOES implements projects in cocoa-growing communities in Ghana and Côte d?Ivoire. \"Charles%20with%20book%20%282%29.JPG\"Charles with literacy materials
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