By Fatmata Jengbe
From the 19th-24th October 2020 a six- day training exercise was held at the Sahara Hotel in Bo for Cocoa Cooperatives, Exporters, Agencies and PMB workers on Cocoa Quality Management, with funds from the International Trade Centre (ITC).
Executive Chairman of the Produce Monitoring Board (PMB), Dr. James Vibbi informed participants that the training is going to be a continuous one for cooperatives, disclosing that the first one was held in Kenema.
Giving the rationale behind the training, Dr, Vibbi maintained that it is undertaken to increase the knowledge of farmers on farm management, good post-harvest practices, fermentation, good Agricultural practices for farm maintenance and increased yield among others, adding that if such practises are implemented by farmers, the quality of cocoa will improve and Sierra Leone will continue to win more awards internationally for best organic cocoa.
He stated that as an institution their motive is to ensure that Sierra Leone’s cocoa is internationally recognized, thereby attracting more investors in the sector.
Dr. Vibbi disclosed that this is the biggest training conducted ever for cocoa cooperatives in Sierra Leone and the training targeted 100 cooperatives from different districts. He noted that after the training, they are expecting the farmers to go to their various cooperatives and train the other farmers.
The Executive Chairman emphasized that such a training will help improve the cocoa value chain by increasing the knowledge of farmers and exporters to know what to do and what not to do, in order to increase cocoa production and quality to meet international standards.
Speaking on the International Cocoa of Excellence Award Competition, Dr Vibbi revealed that Sierra Leone is well prepared to send samples of quality organic cocoa to Paris, France for next year’s competition, adding that they believe that Sierra Leone will be among the best 50 organic cocoa beans producers in the world.
In his statement, the National Coordinator of International Trade Centre (ITC), Wahab Lera-Shaw, spoke of the support of ITC to Farmers through PMB with capacity building programmes. He expressed delight on the progress PMB is making in organizing a Cocoa of Excellence National Competition, which will position Sierra Leone to compete at the International Cocoa of Excellence.
He was also impressed with the gains made by PMB at the International level. He registered his institution’s continued support to PMB and the farmers, furthering that the reason for conducting such training is to increase the knowledge of farmers on how to improve the quality of cocoa and also to complement the efforts of Government in improving the sector in the country.
Mr. Lera Shaw reiterated that recently Sierra Leone was recognized among countries for best organic cocoa production, adding that as a country, they want to win more awards. He furthered that the training is to capacitate farmers to produce better cocoa that will meet international standards. He called on all cooperatives, exporters and agencies to implement what they have learnt during the training. Mr. Shaw underscored that the training gives opportunity to Cocoa Cooperatives and other stakeholders to develop positive attitude in enhancing quality in Cocoa Management.
The Lead Facilitator, Qadir Turay, made presentation on good environmental practices on Cocoa production, stating that farmers should note that cocoa production contributes to deforestation and biodiversity loss in West Africa. But Cocoa Agroforestry can play an important role for the environment.
He highlighted that bad environmental practices such as degradation, wild fire, among others, have potential negative impacts on Cocoa production, and that some of the potential negative impacts on the environment are: Drought, prolonged intensive rainfall and others. He admonished farmers to desist from bad agricultural practices and develop good environmental practices.
Mr. Turay underscored ways to achieve good environmental practices on Cocoa farming, which include; practicing of certification schemes; climate smart agriculture, diversify farming and adoption of the recommended spacing of Cocoa farming.
One of the beneficiaries, Milton F. Koroma, Chairman of Milowmar Farmers Cooperative, said that they have gained a lot, adding that their knowledge on cocoa has broadened. He explained that they have learnt more on cocoa fragmentation, transplanting, pre-harvest and the management of quality. He assured that he is going to organize such training for his cooperative members on cocoa quality management.
Other beneficiaries expressed their appreciation to ITC and PMB for conducting such important training for them. They called on ITC and PMB to always provide capacity training that will help increase their knowledge on cocoa.
