Millions of small, family farms grow cocoa in equatorial regions around the world. For many cocoa farmers, the crop is the major source of income for their families and their communities. Yet each year, they face significant challenges ranging from crop loss due to pests and disease (an average 30 percent annually), outdated farming practices and a lack of adequate rural support services.

The World Cocoa Foundation was formed in 2000 to address these issues. Today, it plays a leading role in helping cocoa farming families by developing and managing effective on-the-ground programs, raising funds and acting as a forum for broad discussion of the cocoa farming sector’s needs. Its nearly 60 member companies support the Foundation financially and through active participation in its efforts. These are enhanced through “public-private partnerships” organized between the Foundation and a range of interested institutions. This combination of public and private expertise brings real benefits to farmers and their families.

One initiative, the Farmer Field Schools program, is raising cocoa farm family incomes substantially. Developed in conjunction with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), these “schools without walls” provide cocoa farmers with training on how to increase productivity, reduce crop loss and costs, and diversify the crops they grow for family income. Thanks to its practical approach, the training can be implemented immediately and benefits achieved when the current crop is harvested. To date, more than 170,000 farmers are benefiting from Farmer Field Schools in West Africa (Cameroon, Ghana, the Ivory Coast, and Nigeria), Asia (Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam) and Latin America (Ecuador).

Another effort, run through the Sustainable Tree Crops Program (STCP) and supported by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), helps organize West African farmers to sell their cocoa collectively. Such “group selling” can dramatically improve farmers’ ability to realize a higher price for their cocoa.

Results from the Farmer Field Schools and “group selling” efforts are encouraging. In Cameroon, participating farm families saw their incomes increase by 55 percent in 2004. Participating Ivory Coast farmers saw, on average, a 24 percent income boost.

This year, a partnership between one of our principal trade associations, the Chocolate Manufacturers Association, and the IITA will launch a series of Farmer Field Schools specifically tailored for West African cocoa farming women – an increasingly important, yet often under-supported group.

In addition, the Farmer Field Schools program is expanding into more Latin American countries, including Bolivia, Colombia and Peru.