Description

ICRAF collaborated with MARS in Cote d'Ivoire to perform the services and to achieve the vision and goals of the Vision for Change Project ("V4C Project"). The vision of the V4C Project created a revitalized cocoa sector in Cote d'Ivoire with empowered farmers producing cocoa on diversified farms with greater productivity, improved quality and profitable returns in thriving rural communities. As such, the V4C Project envisioned a sequence of outcomes, resulting directly from MARS/ICRAF activities within the V4C Project or indirectly through the activities of other party. During its implementation the V4C program developed and refined the most effective ways to support farmers with the aim of improving their productivity, while also boosting sustainable community development. The project also pioneered grafting technology and context based rehabilitation options for degraded cocoa farms in Cote d'Ivoire. In collaboration with CNRA, five elite clones have been selected. Combined with the right agricultural techniques, these new clones can increase the yield from 0.4 to over 1.5 tons per hectare. However, the cocoa sector in Cote d'Ivoire is facing emerging issues in addition to ageing cocoa farms and farmers. Cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus Disease (CSSVD) and deforestation and subsequent landscape degradation threaten the industry. V4C findings showed that prevalence of CSSVD and the extent of soil nutrient depletion in various cocoa production zones have reached alarming levels. This called for an integrated rehabilitation of cocoa farms at landscape level to increase productivity and support the resilience of livelihood systems. In March 2017, Mars signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Government of Cote d'Ivoire to contribute to the revitalization of the cocoa sector. Specifically, the new MOU calls for intervention in five domains, namely I ) combatting Swollen shoot disease, 2) improvement of farm productivity; 3) research in development for a sustainable intensification of cocoa production; 4) community development; 5) adding value to the cocoa value chain and 6) supporting the creation of a cocoa academy in Cote d'Ivoire. The new scope of V4C thus aimed to realize the commitment of the MOU while prov1dmg a business incubator to scale up through cooperative, Mars supply chain partners and CocoaAction. Additionally, the next 3 years of Research and Development activities would concentrate on the Ideation and scoping as well as learning and demonstration. The overall intention was a transformation of the entire Cocoa industry in Cote d'Ivoire (and West Africa), as envisioned in V4C.