TRANSFERRING TECHNOLOGY TO COCOA SMALLHOLDERS: Sharing Experience from Sulawesi,, Indonesia Halim A. Razak Indonesian Cocoa Association Round Table On a Sustainability World Cocoa Economy Ghana, 3-63 Oktober 2007
Smallholder Characteristics Sulawesi cocoa smallholders are typically: Multiple jobs, not just as cocoa farmers, hence for most, little time available for cocoa Mostly cocoa is not grown as a single crop Difficult to convince. Learn from their eyes (evidence based) Ignorant Lack of capital (poor income management, low access to finance, highly dependent on local cocoa collectors/debtors) Can easily convert cocoa into other more profitable crops Not happy working in team, such as farmer group & cooperatives No or very little knowledge towards cocoa business
Sulawesi s Cocoa Smallholders Are weak and vulnerable; and therefore Need help
Aims: To share experiences in terms of technology transfer to Sulawesi farmers; and To show some results we obtained from the approach we implemented
Key Starting Points Find the right men to be Field Facilitators for respective key cocoa areas (Means of selecting them is critical) Identify working area for each FF (Each should manage appr.. 1,000 ha) FF must live with the farmers, understand their actual life & problems With farmers, form working group
Working Groups (in addition to Famer Groups) Working Groups: A working group has a united compound area of 25 to over 100 ha WG is important: Easy to monitor on farm problem & progress in the area. The data produced (e.g. pest problems) is a spatial data, reported monthly on a standard format Easy to evaluate & monitor performance of FF & his respective area
Further Steps Map the Working Group area (coordinates are important, but the relative position is OK) Understand & map the problems as baseline Farmer s s identification & mapping: Lead farmers & easily influenced farmers (they are the entry point farmers) Hard to influence farmers (to be approached with specific techniques, & to be influenced by lead farmers)
Further Steps Work together with the farmers to solve problem faced Explain & demonstrate how the approach gives solution to the problems Motivate other farmers to extend the success, start with the ones easier to influence (e.g. lead farmers) Establish (& maintain) good collaboration & network with local (formal & informal) institutions to achieve total sinergism
Further Steps Within the working group establish a physically measurable plan (activity vs time), according to the identified problems, e.g.: Prunning & fertilization Pest & disease control Post harvest management Crop rehabilitation & replanting, when needed Marketing & access to finance Establish self financed demo plots owned by lead farmers. Activities & progress are recorded by the farmers under FF supervision Monthly data reporting using a standard data format for each working group
Further Steps Upon receiving FF reports, Process them & promptly respond for further actions Three monthly monitoring & evaluation Reward & punishment for FF (with standardized system)
Coordination ASKINDO s technology transfer program is part of Cocoa Sustainability Partnership (CSP) broad program Under CSP coordination, success stories made by ASKINDO & other CSP s partners can be extended more effectively, while unsuccessful practices can be minimized
Criteria: Major Achievements Agricultural practices, Yield & bean quality Farmer institutions Prosperity (income, houses, cars, mobility, education, etc) By FF, out of 20 FFs: 2 (10 %) advanced achievement (within Cocoa Village Model, since 2003) Moderate achievement (since 2006): 1 (5 %) Impressive 3 (15 %) Prospective 4 (20 %) Minimum achievement 4 (20 %) Fails
Thank you