Agro Perspectiva

Cocoa Plan: Plantlet distribution begins in Côte d’Ivoire

18.06.2010 12:56 "Agro Perspectiva" (Kyiv) — The distribution of cocoa plantlets by the first three nurseries in Côte d’Ivoire was officially launched in June under Nestlé’s Cocoa Plan. Led by the Nestlé Research and Development Center in Abidjan, six contracted local cooperatives are dispatching the cocoa plantlets nurtured by a total of seven nurseries, to local farmers for their plantations. Nestlé launched The Cocoa Plan in October 2009, a consumer-facing initiative which brings together Nestlé’s activity to promote sustainable cocoa supply under one banner. Under The Cocoa Plan, each of the seven cocoa nurseries are home to 20,000 plantlets which have been each established in Côte d’Ivoire, making a total of 140,000 cocoa plants. These new plantlets are expected to boost the quality of cocoa in the region. Having selected the high-yield potential and disease resistant plantlets in the nurseries under high supervision for around nine months, the Nestlé R&D Center in Abidjan allowed the first generation of ’Super Cocoa Trees’ to be presented to the cooperatives. The first cooperative to celebrate the distribution of the cocoa plantlets is the Enterprise Cooperative of Yamoussoukro (ECOYA). Cheikh Mboup, Agronomy Department Head for Nestlé R&D; Kam-Rigne Laossi, Project Manager for Nestlé R&D; and Bineta Mbacke, Corporate Communication and Public Affairs Manager for Nestlé Central and West Africa Region (CWAR), were joined by Alphonse N’ Goran, Chairman of the ECOYA at an official event. Mr Laossi announced that Nestlé plans to increase the cocoa plantlets propagation to 600,000 per partner cooperative, by June next year. The second stage of the official delivery moved to Daloa, to the Agricultural Cooperative of Zoukougbeu (CADZOU) led by the Sidibé twin brothers. Finally, the village of Divo, around 150 km from Abidjan located in South Bandama, was the last tour site. Headed by Agathe Vanié, President of the 600-women member Association of the Women Producers of Coffee and Cocoa cooperative (AFPCC), said the cocoa plant nursery distribution symbolised a revolution for the women of South Bandama. Ms Vanié encouraged all the villagers to stop selling their plots of land and join the project. She added: «We have to fight so that this project becomes a success, the lands we have, is our only wealth.» Backed by an investment of CHF 110 million over the next decade, The Cocoa Plan aims to help address the key issues facing the cocoa farming communities that Nestlé works with. Although The Plan is not a quick fix for the challenging cocoa situation, it is an important and significant part of broad, collaborative efforts to improve the cocoa supply chain and the lives of cocoa farmers and communities. This includes improving the quantity and quality of yields by providing 12 million stronger productive plantlets and increasing farmer training by teaching more efficient methods.