A Green Revolution in the West African cocoa belt

STCP tools for the rehabilitation of West African cocoa farms Cacao tree stocks in West Africa are mainly established from seeds procured from farmers’ fields. This planting material lacks the disease tolerance and yield potential of the hybrid seed. Productivity is also affected by the old age of W...

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Main Authors: Bhattacharjee, Ranjana, Gockowski, J., Asare, R., Muilerman, Sander
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: 2012
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/79854
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author Bhattacharjee, Ranjana
Gockowski, J.
Asare, R.
Muilerman, Sander
author_browse Asare, R.
Bhattacharjee, Ranjana
Gockowski, J.
Muilerman, Sander
author_facet Bhattacharjee, Ranjana
Gockowski, J.
Asare, R.
Muilerman, Sander
author_sort Bhattacharjee, Ranjana
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description STCP tools for the rehabilitation of West African cocoa farms Cacao tree stocks in West Africa are mainly established from seeds procured from farmers’ fields. This planting material lacks the disease tolerance and yield potential of the hybrid seed. Productivity is also affected by the old age of West Africa’s tree stock. Replacing and rehabilitating the tree stocks of West Africa is fundamental to the achievement and long-run sustainability of a cocoa Brown Revolution. The STCP has developed a Planting, Replanting and Diversification (PRD) training package to provide farmers the knowledge and technical skills needed to rehabilitate old cocoa farms or reclaim degraded areas using hybrids. However, a major constraint to hybrid adoption is a lack of access to hybrid seeds. To overcome this constraint, STCP introduced a Seed Brokerage System (SBS) for the collective acquisition of hybrid seeds by farmer field school groups from government production units. An initial evaluation of 375 randomly selected trainees revealed that the mean participant had successfully established 0.4 ha of hybrid cocoa seedling with an 81% seedling survival rate after two dry seasons. Approximately half of the surveyed trainees had replanted old farms while half had established new farms on degraded fallow land. The SBS also brokered timber seedlings for farmers desiring to include high-value timber (Terminalia ivorensis and T. superb) as permanent shade in their production system. The mean participant reported the successful establishment of 12 timber seedlings which is equivalent to 30 trees per hectare. Farmers favored the SBS innovation and are seeking its continuance.
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spelling CGSpace798542025-11-11T10:43:44Z A Green Revolution in the West African cocoa belt Bhattacharjee, Ranjana Gockowski, J. Asare, R. Muilerman, Sander cocoa (plant) smallholders fertilizers plant diseases pests of plants STCP tools for the rehabilitation of West African cocoa farms Cacao tree stocks in West Africa are mainly established from seeds procured from farmers’ fields. This planting material lacks the disease tolerance and yield potential of the hybrid seed. Productivity is also affected by the old age of West Africa’s tree stock. Replacing and rehabilitating the tree stocks of West Africa is fundamental to the achievement and long-run sustainability of a cocoa Brown Revolution. The STCP has developed a Planting, Replanting and Diversification (PRD) training package to provide farmers the knowledge and technical skills needed to rehabilitate old cocoa farms or reclaim degraded areas using hybrids. However, a major constraint to hybrid adoption is a lack of access to hybrid seeds. To overcome this constraint, STCP introduced a Seed Brokerage System (SBS) for the collective acquisition of hybrid seeds by farmer field school groups from government production units. An initial evaluation of 375 randomly selected trainees revealed that the mean participant had successfully established 0.4 ha of hybrid cocoa seedling with an 81% seedling survival rate after two dry seasons. Approximately half of the surveyed trainees had replanted old farms while half had established new farms on degraded fallow land. The SBS also brokered timber seedlings for farmers desiring to include high-value timber (Terminalia ivorensis and T. superb) as permanent shade in their production system. The mean participant reported the successful establishment of 12 timber seedlings which is equivalent to 30 trees per hectare. Farmers favored the SBS innovation and are seeking its continuance. 2012-03 2017-02-13T13:41:50Z 2017-02-13T13:41:50Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/79854 en Open Access application/pdf Bhattacharjee, R., Gockowski, J., Asare, R. & Muilerman, S. (2012). A green revolution in the West African cocoa belt. 35-39.
spellingShingle cocoa (plant)
smallholders
fertilizers
plant diseases
pests of plants
Bhattacharjee, Ranjana
Gockowski, J.
Asare, R.
Muilerman, Sander
A Green Revolution in the West African cocoa belt
title A Green Revolution in the West African cocoa belt
title_full A Green Revolution in the West African cocoa belt
title_fullStr A Green Revolution in the West African cocoa belt
title_full_unstemmed A Green Revolution in the West African cocoa belt
title_short A Green Revolution in the West African cocoa belt
title_sort green revolution in the west african cocoa belt
topic cocoa (plant)
smallholders
fertilizers
plant diseases
pests of plants
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/79854
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