Sustainability initiative at work
29 June 2012 – Barry Callebaut is establishing a €833,000 centre of cocoa excellence to promote advanced agricultural techniques in Côte d’Ivoire. The centre will include training facilities for farmers and a 30-hectare ‘showcase farm’ to demonstrate state-of-the-art intercropping techniques and other yield enhancement practices such as grafting to rejuvenate aging cocoa farms and double farm productivity.
The centre will be situated in Pacobo in the Department of Tiassalé in the south-central cocoa growing area of Côte d’Ivoire. A cornerstone of Barry Callebaut’s ‘Cocoa Horizons’ global sustainability initiative, the Center is scheduled to be operational from October 2012.
The ‘showcase farm’ will comprise about 30 hectares, ten of which will be planted this year starting in June. Barry Callebaut will use the farm to test different approaches for growing cocoa with other crops. The company is building on its prior experience with intercropping of compatible plants to improve productivity and biodiversity. Since 2010 Barry Callebaut has supported a local project in the region to demonstrate optimal methods of intercropping cocoa, banana and rubber with the goal of improving yields per hectare.
Some of the crops that will be planted alongside cocoa trees on the ‘showcase farm’ include: plantain, coconut, mango, pineapple, beans and maize, as well as rubber and others. Shade trees will also be planted.
"This effort reflects the importance of promoting biodiversity – planting other food crops and shade trees in addition to cocoa – on smallholder farms," says Anke Massart, project leader Cocoa Horizons in Côte d’Ivoire. "An abundant variety of plants and trees simulates the natural diversity found in the rainforest and results in a healthy ecosystem. This, in turn, means more productive cocoa trees."
In addition to the environmental benefits, planting other food crops and trees together with cocoa also directly benefits farmers and their families by providing variety to the family diet as well as creating additional sources of income to complement the earnings from cocoa.
