Two Memoranda of Understanding were signed on July 28, in Yaounde by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the World Cocoa Foundation.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, MINADER, and the World Cocoa Foundation, have partnered to seek lasting solutions to the rather erroneous information cocoa farmers are sometimes obliged to use. MINADER boss, Essimi Menye and the Chief of Party of the World Cocoa Foundation, African Cocoa Initiative, H. Sona Ebai, on July 28, 2015, signed two Memoranda of Understanding to this effect. The first agreement is to harmonise training manuals for cocoa farmers in Cameroon while the second is intended for technicians who are involved in extension service delivery.

Mr Essimi Menye recalls that cocoa is a highly valued crop and is produced in Cameroon on small farms. The small cocoa farmers face the challenge of aging cocoa trees that need to be replaced with improved variety with faster maturity and high-yielding. The difficulty of accessing credits by small farmers to invest in inputs like fertilizers required to increasing yields is also haunting the sector. But most worrisome is information dished out to farmers, which according to Essimi Menye, turns out to be confusing. Bridging the gap means harmonizing training manuals. The agreement will come up with support for the training of 200 extension staff and 10 master trainers in the domain of grafting. Farm yields are therefore expected to increase and livelihoods improved.

H. Sona Ebai recalled that; “The Cameroonian cocoa sector has a lot of so-called experts who give farmers different messages. We will like the messages to be technical and approved by the ministry in charge, so we do not create misunderstanding.” He disclosed that the MoU will train extension workers not only in the details of good agricultural practices, but also in environmental services and communication skills so they do not only know material, but how to dispense it. “We need to rehabilitate our cocoa trees and one of the fastest ways is through grafting, stressed Sona.” The agreement will therefore train 10 master grafters who will be part of MINADER, SODECAO and IRAD. The master grafters are expected to train other people on how to embed new planting material on existing trees.

The World Cocoa Foundation membership includes cocoa and chocolate manufacturers, processors, supply chain managers and all the companies worldwide, representing more than 80 per cent of the global cocoa market. In particular, the African Cocoa Initiative is a Public-Private Partnership bringing together multinationals and governments. It’s a 13.5 million US dollar (about FCFA 8 billion) project that seeks to build the capacity in institutions and structures that provide services to the cocoa value chain.