Originally published on cgiar.org by:International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) on Apr 23, 2009
Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire – The Sustainable Tree Crops Program (STCP) partners are calling upon national governments, regional authorities and the private sector to formalize the present public-private partnership platform around tree crops. At the same time, they are encouraging the promotion of such value chain partnerships in other agricultural commodities, including food crops, towards the transformation of rural economies in sub-Saharan Africa. A concerted effort across commodities is required if the 6 percent national agricultural growth rate is to be achieved as targeted by African governments.
The Executive Committee of the STCP partnership met in the Ivorian capital, Abidjan, on 20-22 April to assess its performance over the years and deliberate on issues facing the cocoa economy of West and Central Africa. The meeting brings together representatives of national and international institutions responsible for the cocoa sector.
The public-private partnership on which STCP is built has been heralded as an innovation that “never before existed for the cocoa sector”. It has demonstrated that bringing together government authorities, the private sector, development agencies and research institutions, working together towards a common goal, can strengthen the value chain and lead to significant increases in farmer income. Such revitalization benefits the local and global private sectors, which depend on a stable supply of quality tree crop products, and national economies that rely on agriculture as part of their growth and poverty reduction strategy.
STCP was launched in 2000 by West and Central African cocoa stakeholders, the global cocoa industry, the World Cocoa Foundation, and USAID, and is managed by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). STCP has been introducing production, marketing, and institutional innovations in the cocoa sector aimed at improving the economic and social well being of tree crop farmers. For instance, its training approach has led to farmers increasing their cocoa yields on average by 15 to 40%. The introduction of group sales and entrepreneurship, more transparent and direct transactions, and quality control have resulted in 5-15% higher farm-gate prices for farmers. STCP is engaged with public and private partners in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Liberia to identify the potential of the cocoa sector in contributing to rural transformation. These demonstrated accomplishments and innovations are being integrated into new development initiatives by national and regional authorities and the private sector.
Based on these achievements, the STCP partners recognize the significant role of agriculture in fighting poverty in Africa. They call on African governments, the private sector and development partners to encourage public-private partnerships to address the revitalization of the agricultural sector, to continue to give adequate attention to developing and introducing production, marketing, policy and institutional innovations towards transforming the rural economy, and to invest in building the capacity of agricultural institutions and entrepreneurial farmers. This is essential if sub-Saharan Africa is to be competitive in the cocoa and other commodity markets and achieve food security in the coming decade.
###
For more information, please contact:
Cynthia Prah, c.prah@cgiar.org
Communications Officer
Sustainable Tree Crops Program (STCP)
IITA - Ghana
Tel.: +233 21 773875/763675 ext. 109
Mobile: +233 28 5100313
Website: www.treecrops.org
Jeffrey Oliver, o.jeffrey@cgiar.org
Corporate Communications Officer (International)
Godwin Atser, g.atser@cgiar.org
Corporate Communications Officer (West Africa)
Communication Office
IITA – Headquarters
Ibadan, Nigeria
About IITA
Africa has complex problems that plague agriculture and people's lives. We develop agricultural solutions with our partners to tackle hunger and poverty. Our award winning research-for-development (R4D) is based on focused, authoritative thinking anchored on the development needs of sub-Saharan Africa. We work with partners in Africa and beyond to reduce producer and consumer risks, enhance crop quality and productivity, and generate wealth from agriculture. IITA is an international non-profit R4D organization since 1967, governed by a Board of Trustees, and supported primarily by the CGIAR.
About STCP Support
The core STCP Platform, which is managed by IITA, is supported financially by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF), and the global cocoa industry, which includes Archer Daniels Midland ADM Cocoa, Barry Callebaut, Blommer Chocolate Company, Cadbury plc, Confectionery Manufacturers Association of Canada, Ferrero, Guittard Chocolate Company, The Hershey Company, Kraft Foods, Lindt&Sprüngli, Mars Incorporated, Nestlé, and Olam International; as well as SOCODEVI/CIDA Canada. Country-level engagement is supported/guided in Cameroon by the Ministry of Commerce and Industrial Promotion and the Interprofessional Council on Cocoa and Coffee (CICC); in Côte d’Ivoire by the Ministry of Agriculture and the national cocoa funds (now Interim Cocoa and Coffee Management Committee); in Ghana by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD); in Nigeria by the National Cocoa Development Committee / Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Cocoa Association of Nigeria; in Liberia by the Ministry of Agriculture and Senate Committee on Agriculture. Regional engagement is guided by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).