18 • Food Security• C&CI May 2012


Cash crops as the corner- stone of food security: the case for cocoa


annual revenues for the region. The crop forms the economic backbone of many West African countries and provides a liveli- hood for nearly two million smallholder farmers. Most cocoa farmers, including Kwabena


M


Kwarteng, 49, from the Agona Nsabaa community in central Ghana, use outdated agricultural practices and are ill-informed about newer, well researched concepts for managing healthy cocoa farms. Trees pro- duce well below their maximum potential and governments have been slow to capi- talize on proper management and invest- ment in resources. Consequently, Mr Kwarteng, like many of his peers, usually harvests only a few bags of cocoa from his 1 hectare cocoa farm. The cocoa tree (Theobroma cacao)


thrives in the West African climate and is a reliable cash crop to many farmers, who know that they can usually produce at least a few bags of cocoa from their farms. Often, though, a few bags from one crop provide too little income for a farm family and cer- tainly cannot feed either the farmer’s family or West Africa’s burgeoning population.


Global deficit


Especially troubling for chocolate lovers, such low rates of production are also fore- cast to contribute within the next few years to a global deficit in cocoa supply. Many development and cocoa experts are trying to help farmers increase production so that they can help meet rising global demand for chocolate and earn more cash to invest in their farms and on essential household expenses like food, healthcare and school fees. For West African cocoa farmers such as


Mr Kwarteng it is important to ensure that any increase in production doesn’t only come from expanding the area of land they use to grow cocoa but that by improving productivity on existing farms and taking advantage of diversified cropping.


ore than 70 per cent of the world’s cocoa comes from West Africa, accounting for US$8 billion in


Helping cocoa farmers increase productivity whilst diversifying


into other crops that can be grown alongside cocoa can help to improve their incomes, raise them out of poverty and enhance food security*


Development experts are helping farmers increase production, earn more cash and meet rising global demand for chocolate


Cocoa farmers should be a focal point in


any discussion about increasing productivity as a means of bolstering regional food security. They have already mastered con- cepts essential for producing crops and bringing a product to market, and cocoa trees are well suited for combining with other food crops. As such, cocoa farmers are uniquely positioned to form a corner- stone of food security strategies in large swathes of West Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America. In West Africa, cocoa farmers own an


average of less than two hectares of land. Increased productivity means that farmers can increase their overall cocoa yield, while growing additional food crops on the same property, right alongside their cocoa trees. One household thus relies on cash crop- ping to provide a reliable base of income and, importantly, looks to other food crops


for both subsistence and to take to market for additional income. This improves avail- ability, accessibility, and stability of food supply in the region, at the household level, and in the marketplace.


What works?


Through public-private partnerships, the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) is working with governments, member companies, development funders, and others to better understand local realities faced by cocoa farmers and to find common solutions. New insights are giving rise to efforts that allow food to be grown using methods that incor- porate modern practices. The result is better food security for


cocoa farmers and their neighbours, and national progress toward achieving global development objectives like the Millennium


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