Cultivating hope: Ivorian cocoa farmers’ path to empowerment
Under the shade of cocoa trees, with posters as blackboards and machetes and fertilisers as course materials, the class begins.
ABIDJAN, June 25, 2024 - On a misty morning in rural Cote d’Ivoire, Delphine Papo deviates from her usual routine. Instead of trekking 4 kilometres through the fog to her cocoa plantation, she’s headed to a special class. The Watté United Brothers Cooperative [SCUW] is hosting a demonstration of cocoa tree fertilisation, and Delphine is eager to attend.
“I have heard from other farmers that their harvest increased dramatically after joining SCUW’s cooperatives on-farm training. I want to join today to access fertilizer, apply it correctly in my field, increase my yields, and cater better for my children”.
In Cote d’Ivoire, most smallholder farmers acquire fertilisers through informal credit, cooperatives, and microfinance institutions, driven by the hope for increased crop yields. However, improper application of these fertilisers often leads to disappointments, with harvests and incomes falling short of expectations.
Today in Watté, a suburb of the Southwestern port city of San Pedro, Delphine joined six other cocoa growers, including Etienne Bardo, for the mobile good agricultural practices training session dubbed OCP School Lab.
Under the shade of cocoa trees, with posters as blackboards and machetes and fertilisers as course materials, the class begins. The learners closely follow the instructors as they demonstrate the appropriate fertiliser doses and application techniques for cocoa trees. They also cover the recommended pruning and hoeing practices. A key point emphasized is fertiliser spreading in a circle, one metre away from the tree trunk.
Delphine and Etienne have been selected to replicate the demonstration. As they perform the steps from memory-- sizing, pruning, hoeing, and spreading, Delphine has an epiphany. “Comparing how I applied fertiliser today to my old method is like comparing day and night,” she admits. “I now see what I need to change.”
This transformative experience is made possible by the Africa Fertiliser Financing Mechanism’s trade guarantee project in Cote d’Ivoire. The US$ 2 million guarantee scheme enables farmers like Delphine and Etienne to receive capacity-building in fertiliser use and good agricultural practices. It also helps them obtain fertilisers on credit from OCP Africa, an international fertiliser distributor. Farmers contribute 20 percent upfront and pay the remaining 80 percent after harvest.
The initiative goes beyond just providing access to fertilisers. It equips smallholder farmers with the technical skills and know-how to enhance their yields and income. Etienne looks at his plantation with renewed hope: "My plantation has completely changed since I started applying the fertilisers from SCUW. I know my yields will improve now. I will buy a car, send my children to school, and then build my house."
The holistic approach, combining fertiliser use with good agricultural practices, aims to improve productivity and empower farmers in Côte d'Ivoire. As an innovative financial solution, the trade credit guarantee seeks to unlock access to quality, affordable fertilisers, fostering a thriving agricultural landscape across Africa.
https://thecooperator.news/affm-commits-more-than-us-2mln-to-improve-farmers-access-to-fertilisers/
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