Developing farm-based businesses

The smallholder cocoa growers in Sulawesi are looking forward to putting more money in their pockets through growing new pest-resistant, high-yielding cocoa varieties developed though an Australian and Indonesian research partnership.

The world cocoa price has risen from US$1600/tonne to $2660/tonne and growers receive a large proportion, around 80 per cent, of the export price.

Pesianus Lesnusa and his farmer group (which comprises more than 700 members) are hosting an ACIAR trial of 12 new genotypes that are being assessed for local adaptation and cocoa quality.

“Cocoa is very important to us because the market is good, the prices are good and this crop has changed the whole economy of the district,” he said.

Where possible, farmers are also being helped to take responsibility for developing some of the support services that are needed for the revitalisation of the cocoa industry, such as nurseries and fertiliser supplies. In this way, other small businesses can develop on the back of farming.

Some farmers are establishing commercial nurseries. The limited supply of seedlings and grafted plants originating from high-yielding and disease and pest-resistant stock is a major factor holding back farmers’ renewed enthusiasm for cocoa.

Supplying this demand for superior trees is providing new business opportunities for farmers who develop quality-controlled nurseries, often with the support of commercial partners such as Mars Incorporated.

Research into making compost from pod husks, pruning waste and other organic waste, such as seaweed, banana stalks and rice paddy stubble, is also adding a new commercial element to smallholder cocoa production. The compost is a valuable source of nutrients, especially during the early growth stages of newly planted seedlings. The compost improves soil condition and carbon balance, feeding the microorganisms that provide natural controls to the soil-borne fungus that causes pod rot disease.

Composting is a simple technology, but it has become a venture that turns waste matter into a product with value, whether farmers make compost for themselves or for sale.