Sharing Knowledge Essential for Cocoa Farmers to Learn from Research
- csrice8
- Jul 18, 2016
- 1 min read
From disease control to planting new trees, the ways in which the decline in world cocoa production can be stemmed are increasingly well understood. The real problem facing the cocoa industry is how to get this knowledge into the hands of farmers in the field – and then provide the support farmers need to implement these changes.
Businesses, government agencies and the non-profit sector are now investing heavily in training programmes for cocoa farmers. It’s hoped these programmes will not only stop the drop in global yields, but also prompt a new generation of farmers to take up cocoa cultivation.
“Large cocoa companies have become way more interested in the wellbeing of their suppliers. Farmers’ livelihoods have become a boardroom topic,” says Daan de Wit, head of communications at IDH, a Netherlands-based Sustainable Trade Initiative.
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
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