.. TIlEGUARDIAN,Sunday,April3,20n

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HowTo Certify Cocoa To Boost Export Earnings, By Instructors By OIukayode Dyoleye

MAKING cocoa export more competitive in Nigeria was the core of the training on certification, held last week in Ibadan. The four-day training organised by Soli­

daridad, a Dutch interventionist agency working with farm­ers and farmer groups, in collaboration with Amsterdam-based UTZ Certified, drew participants from Nigeria, Ghana and Cameroun. It was on how to help farmers add quality to their cocoa and earn more. At the opening day in the International Institute ofTropical

Agriculture (JITA), Ibadan, participants were told they were beinl/trained as trainers on.

"may be a hurdle; as he said, in "getting farme rs trained in Good All,ricultural Practices,you have to get farmers' organi­sations. 'The buyers of cocoa products see that cocoa is deteriorating

in West Africa; observed Perk "With our programmes; he said, "we try to see that cocoa becomes a good business again, as there is a strong business interest." In this regard, corrob­orated Chavez, "we have seen there are many development programmes and certification is a tool, not the end." She clar­ified, however, that "the aim of UTZ is not everyone becom­ing certified, but brinll,ing certification tool to achieve good agricultural practices.

being in bUSiness; to "make it profitable for everybody." Perk too spoke of Ghana, where traders have licenced buying

agents. "We intend to work around them as entry points; he said, adding that "these could be used as reSO\lrce persons in villages for internal control systems. We are trying to build this into our programme between farmers and traders." "The programme; he assured, "is here to stay, but some of

our interventions may be phased out with time and some may remain for much longer. We are trying to make serious business out of cocoa. He stressed the desire to position the farmers in readiness for coming opportunities, as they trained 15 people, five each from Nigeria, Ghana and Cameroon, after training eight in Cote d'lvoiTe.

'Utz, in Maya language in Guatemala, means 'good,' and so, underUTZ certification, considered acceptable for purchase, for export, for processing and for consumption.

Taiwo Osun, who began operation as country representa­tive for SolidaridadfWAFF Nigeria, in January, "started by de­veloping networks with stakeholders in cocoa industry." So far, he said , "we have been able to identify buying companies who are interested in exporting UTZ certified cocoa. These ex­porters know we have expertise in methodologies for achiev­mg UTZ certification. We also work by proxy as UTZ certification staff. So, they rely on us for gUidance and train­ing."

"Our plan; Perk continued, "is in line with what they need and our mode of delivery is training others. They will go through more training. It might take four to five years before getting farmers into strong organisations for sustainable programmes. MARS, a major cocoa processing firm, for in­stance, wants to buy all cocoa certified and is projecting 40,000 MT as at 2020. That is one company among others." David Short, from UTZ Certified, Amsterdam, disclosed that

"inputs from the stakeholders form. the baSis of our assess­ment. We try to bring everybody together, addreSSing all the­matic areas needing to be addressed. This is a several months' process of multiple stakeholder consultation - on labour, age, etc. We just faCilitated that. The certification bodies that work with us have accreditation on standards. We outsource the audit, but we carefully analyse before giving approval."

According to An~ela Tejada Chavez, a Peruvian industrial engi neer and a tramer at the workshop, "UTZ certification is adding value in every part of the chain." She indicated that" UTZ model allows producers to enter at intermediate level. We look for continuous improvement, not a perfect situa­tion," Hans Perk, a senior official at Solidaridad, currentlyoperat­

ing in Ghana, observed that "Latin American farmers tend to be organised" than African, with a school for cooperatives, for training, for interna l control system.': Its absence here

In choosin/? UTZ, Angela said, "in West Africa, we started in Ivory Coast, and observed an improvement in quality of the beans. "The exporters see it. They see better quality of beans and certified farmers earn more. Farmers are now taken more seriously by exporters. They go beyond being farmers to

His work involved ensuring compliance with protocols, rules and regulations and "speCific attention to non<ompli­ances to assess how the certification bodies comply." Cyri l Ugwu, a new official of SolidaridadfWAFF, described ex~ec­tations as 'interwoven.' His ultimate yardstick was that 'we are promoting susta inable agricultural production for the benefit of the farmers." To achieve their expectation, he said," our main entry point is UTZ certification programme. But that does not prevent us from working on other standards. It is in anticipation of industry demand for certified cocoa from West Africa. UTZ and Solidaridad is positioning for the certified cocoa."

As a part of efforts towards that end, Perk noted that the trained will in tum train others. In Ghana, for instance, he said, "we are working with ARMAJARO. They liave their tech­nical staff and 24 trainers. We will probably need one trainer to reach a wide farmer base, working with such a company." He admitted that "we believe in local interpretation. We don't believe in one size fits all. Our code of conduct will remain the same, but adaptable to individual countries. With every project, we do baseline studies on productivity, quality, farm­ers' income. We monitor those doing the implementation, and, where necessary, we adapt."

Or. Kelsey B. David-West (left) hands oui a gift to Or. Wilson Badelo, while Or. Charles Ibe (middle)looks on during the dinner night organised for elders in the veterinary profeSSion by the Lagos State chapter of the Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association at Renaissance Hotel , Ikeja ... recentiy

Osun unfolded part of our Solidaridad's strategy as a na­tional workshop on internal control system of UTZ. "We ca n bring all stakeholders together and educated them. We also work on tools development, and the basic tools that will as­sist farmers to achieve certification." The workshop, he sa id, is being planned for May. Ugwu added, however, that "we are building in<ountry capacity on ICS set ups, the core of certi­fication. He expressed expectations that at the end of last week, "we would have built capacity of people who will be able to deliver services in Nigeria, Ghana and Cameroun."

Oluyole Farmers Gain Insight On Agric Information, Ask For More By Olukayode Dyeleyo .

E RShave the right to protest if an in­dustry comes to start operation near an existing farmland and pollutes the air.

This was emphaSised lastTuesday by Dr. Abio­dun Olusola Salami, a plant pathologist from the Obafemi Awolowo UniverSity, lie Ife, dur­ing a session with farmers from Oluyole local government area of Dyo State. . In the meeting, organised by Feed Nigeria

Initiative (FENI) in conjunction with the local government authority, and held at the confer­ence hall of the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CruN), Mrs. Salami told no fewer than 220 farmers in attendance that they need not be intimidated by the establishment of any industry near their farms. According to her, fumes from such industries

have the tendency to pollute the air and hin­der crop plants from performing the roles of photosyntheSiS, which in tum limits growth and other performance parameters. She spoke against the background of the need to inform the farmers of the right information they need to have during their farming opera­tions.

. ~~~.- Salami said the farmers need to know the right season for planting, and how to control diseases and infections of plants. She noted that the farmers need to mow if their seeds are healthy before planting, adding that some healthy-looking seeds may indeed be dis-

eased. She warned that planting them could lead to problems during growth. In her view, farmers need to test their soils

also before planting to see what conditions prevail in terms of nutrient and infection and to avoid cultivating soils that are poor in nutrients or that have infectious microbes that could negatively affect the health and .survival of the crops in the field.

While Salami's presentation got underway, the chairman of the local government and his entourage came in and his men took the stage, leading to a·truncatlng of her presenta­tion. The praise Singers and supporters of the chairman would not allow Dr. Salami to con­tinue as they mounted the rostrum and began announcements on agricultural in­puts, chemicals and farm implements do­nated to the farmers. The chairman, Kehinde OIaosebikan, who

led the presentation of the agricultural In­puts ana implements, did not spare effort at calling the farmers for a political rally that was to follow at the local government office the following da)\ Wednesday. The excited farmers praised tne effort of the chairman in providing those items, which Included cut­lasses, knapsacks, some agrochemlcals, to be shared among the farmers. Earlier, the presenter on information man­

agement for critical stakeholders in agricul­ture, a veterinarian, had told farmers to rise up and Insist on their rights from govern-

ments. He told them of the opportunities ex­isting in membership of the All Farmers Asso­ciation of Nigeria (AFAN) and farmers' cooperatives. According to him, the farmers have the op­

portunities of availing themselves of agricul­tural market information thatcould help tbem sell their produce at times of pricing favourable to tliem. They could also have ac­cess to other critical information as a group. He informed them of the need to obtain and learn to use meteorological information for determining when to plant, or harvest. Farmers at the forum wanted to know how

they can benefit from opportunities in pro­ducing ewe-eran (Thaumatococcus danielli), which is reputed tor having sweetness that is about350 times that of sugar, but which Nige­rians are yet to appreciate for its usefulness, particularly for adults who are diabetic or those who have phobia for sugar as sweeten­ers. While Lasisi Yusuf, .a farmer from Ag­belere, expressed concern over pests of citrus in his area and how to overcome them, Mukaila Oladejo actually wanted to know how small farmers coula benefit from agricul­turalloans, expressing misgivings in bank loans for agriculture. . Another farmer, Godwin Layode, told his col­

leagues that prices of agricultural products remain low In Oluyole because farmers "no di­versity of crop utifisation." He alluded to Ogun State where cassava Is made Into a vari-

ety of products, some of which are snacks. These, he said, help in keeping the prices at levels that reward farmers' efforts and en­couraging farmers to keep producing. Another farmer, Kola Olayiwola, urged the

farmers to come together once in a while for trainings, whiet!, he said, the farmers can contribute among themselves to fund . Oluokun Makinde, the Aare Agbe ofOyo

State, drew attention to what farmers should ask politiCians, pointing out the conference of lastTuesday was not meant for politiCians, but for farmers. Mr. Adeola Soetan, chief executive ofFENI,

advised farmers not to bring politiCS into farming. He said farmers should be free to choose in politics and should be united for the common interests as farmers. He said Obafemi Awolowo concentrated on few de­velopment projects and became a reference point for those projects, arguing that the present crop of politicians could not be said to concentrate on few projects. He said those saying they would do many things end not doing any well. Chairman of AFAN in Oluyole, Mr. Osuolale

Ola, thanked the resource persons for the day and announced that those that at­tended represented 35 farmers' groups. He praised the local government chairman for the items presented and indicated plans to begin distribution, starting with cutlasses rignt at the conference venue.