Cocoa-crop revival: EU project to increase production

The European Union (EU)-funded effort to rehabilitate 2,000 acres of previously neglected local land for increased cocoa production is 60 per cent completed and is expected to meet the project-termination deadline of November 2011, according to the Cocoa Industry Board (CIB).

The project, underwritten by a grant of €500,000 under the EU Banana Support Programme, with matching funds of €161,000 from the CIB, is expected to help boost production by at least 50 per cent, directly benefitting some 600 farmers in St Mary, Portland and St Thomas.

Currently, local cocoa production averages 10 boxes per acre and, according to secretary-manager of the CIB, Steven Watson, "all things being equal, we expect to see an increase to 15 boxes per acre over a 24-month period from the rehabilitated fields. This would total 3,000 boxes of wet cocoa, which would convert to 300 metric tons or 300,000 kilos of exportable dried beans." Mr Watson has urged farmers to cluster and share resources, stating that "where best practices are used, it is possible to reap 80 boxes" per acre.

Low performance

Data from the CIB show that in fiscal year 2009-10, exports of dry cocoa beans totalled 548 tonnes. The out-turn for fiscal year 2010-11 is expected to be much lower, as up to last month, only 100 tonnes had been exported, the low performance attributable to the drought which affected the country for most of last year.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, about 11,000 farmers are involved in cocoa production. In 2009, the value of primary output from the sector was J$200 million (about US$2.3 million), some US$1.8 million worth of which went to the export market.

The EU project forms part of a multi-pronged effort to revive the sector, given that Jamaican cocoa is among varieties from seven countries whose production has been designated as 100 per cent fine-flavoured, according to Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Dr Christopher Tufton. Last year, the minister said it was estimated that Jamaican cocoa has a guaranteed market for at least 1,500 tonnes annually, but the highest annual yield in the prior five years, achieved in 2007, was 768 tonnes.

The United States Agency for International Development, has also contributed US$15 million for the rehabilitation of another 1,000 acres of cocoa land in Jamaica, as well as supporting infrastructure such as the installation of cocoa-drying facilities on farms and the development of new crop varieties.

Watson said the primary objective of the EU project is to increase production, productivity and farmer income, in addition to educating farmers and their families in basic literacy, numeracy, information technology and basic business training.

Like the CIB, the Government has also moved to separate the commercial and regulatory functions of the CIB, partly because of the latter's impact on pricing, and the fact that the industry suffered from the low prices paid to farmers as a proportion of export earnings.

Watson said, "Legislation is currently being reviewed that will remove the monopoly the CIB has in buying wet beans, processing and trading in dry cocoa beans", the resulting impact on pricing expecting to act as a stimulus for production.

And Watson disclosed that although no specific investors have yet laid out cash for investment in new chocolate projects, "a number of potential local and foreign investors have indicated their interest in investing in farms and in processing facilities and some in value-added production." He said the discussions were preliminary and, therefore, "we cannot predict when the projects will commence."

aviacollinde.austanny@yahoo.com