The cocoa pod borer (CPB), Conopomorpha cramerella, a most serious pest of the crop, was first detected in East New Britain Province (ENBP) of Papua New Guinea (PNG) in March 2006 and was not eradicated despite intense efforts. CPB is now infesting 18 cocoa growing regions of ENBP as well as plantings at West Sepik and Madang. This project, commissioned in January 2008, is aimed at assisting cocoa stakeholders to effectively implement systematic and long term CPB management through enhancing knowledge and awareness, strengthening surveillance and monitoring efforts, develop pragmatic resource-matched and location-specific integrated pest management (IPM) programmes and development of farmer participatory training and research (FPTR) using discovery learning curricula.
The project commenced with an inception workshop held in PNG Cocoa, Coconut Institute Ltd. (PNG-CCI) over 23-24 April, 2008, with the main objectives of updating participants on the status/management of CPB in PNG and to agree on work plans and timelines for the deliverables of the various project activities. Forty-three people participated; 18 being project personnel, and the others invited to contribute to the proceedings. Visits to new CPB hotspots showed the pest to be increasingly serious in smallholder fields. Discussions with stakeholder agencies indicated keen interest to support and collaborate in the project; for example, AgMark, a local cocoa producer/buyer/supplier, has agreed to participate by hosting a replicate of the target pod spraying (TPS) trial at Tokiala Plantation and supplying the needed insecticide.
Following the inception workshop, a visit was made from 28 August to 4 September 2008 to follow up on activities of the project as agreed during the inception workshop with special emphasis on field experiments and activities, to collect more video and still materials for CPB publicity materials and DVD, to make preparations for the upcoming Training-of-Master Facilitators (TOMF) course and to resolve some administrative matters. About 70% of scheduled activities were initiated at the time of the visit. A problem with over-expenditure for the project inception workshop was also resolved by the PNG-CCI absorbing the additional cost as the institute's further contribution to the project. Members also agreed to be mindful of staying within the budget in all future aspects of the project.
Another visit was made to conduct the TOMF course at PNG-CCI, Tavilo on 14-21 November 2008. The course had 21 participants from PNG-CCI, Department of Primary Industries (DPI) and the private sector. The course curriculum was comprehensive, covering wide ranging aspects from background information on CPB to FPTR through farmer field school (FFS), field practice of agro-ecosystem analysis (AESA), and logistical aspects of management and organization of Training-of-Facilitators (TOF) and FFS. As an important output, a TOMF course Manual was produced. Participants' and course evaluations showed the TOMF course to be suitable and to have successfully attained its aim of training a core of Master Facilitators to later train Facilitators and farmers on the IPM of CPB. Opportunity was also taken during and in the remaining time after the course to follow up on the other on-going activities of the project.
Soon after the TOMF course, the first TOF course was conducted on 14-24 January 2009 at the residence of one of the MF (Mr. Koniel Batil) in Napapar 1 Village, Central Gazelle Local Level Government (LLG), Gazelle District. Twenty-eight participants came from seven wards in Zone 2 of Central Gazelle LLG, ENBP, comprising a wide range of interested individuals (e.g. farmers, councillors, former banker, DPI staff, health worker and teachers). The course curriculum covered 4 lecture presentation sessions on general aspects of CPB, FPTR, facilitation, etc. The remaining sessions were practicals in both classroom and the field. Many of the farmer participants immediately implemented what they had learnt in their cocoa fields. The second TOF course was planned for 14-22 May, 2009. Unfortunately, this had to be cancelled suddenly (on 7 May) due to an administrative 'crisis' at PNG-CCI.
Notwithstanding the last problem, all activities of the project have commenced at the time of this report.

This 2nd Annual Report covers progress made during 1 June 2009 to 31 May 2010. Excluded is the progress made from project inception until 31 May 2009 which has been documented in the 1st Annual Report and which covered primarily the project background, inception workshop (held over 23-24 April, 2008), TOMF course (undertaken on 14-21 November 2008), the 1st TOF course (conducted from 14-24 January 2009), progress of research activities and the various follow-on activities after each of these events.
During the period under review, progress made were: completion of the 2nd and 3rd TOF courses, initiation of 3 FFS, conduct of the Mid-Term Review Meeting and the respective follow-up activities..
The 2nd TOF course was originally planned for 14-22 May, 2009. Unfortunately, this had to be cancelled suddenly on 7 May due to an administrative "crisis" at PNGCCIL. This was rescheduled and conducted on 20-28 August 2009 by six lead MF with assistance from several supporting MF. The course had 27 participants comprising farmers, extension workers, training staff from the private sector, staff members of DPI, ward councillors, and members of various groups/committees. Like the 1st TOF, the course curriculum was comprehensive and generally followed that of the November 2008 TOMF course but modified/abridged to suit the requirements of the TOF. Details of the course syllabus were subsequently compiled into a TOF Manual.
The 3rd TOF was conducted in addition to the two TOFs originally targeted by the project, primarily due to initiative and strong motivation of MFs. This TOF trained an additional batch of 16 local farmer Facilitators. This 3rd TOF course was conducted at PNGCCIL by five MFs; with both Dr. Samson Laup and Paul Gende giving overall support throughout the course. Details of course syllabus were similar to the training manual used in the 2nd TOF course.
In general, an important selection criterion of participants for both the TOFs was that the participants are in a position to conduct FFS on return to their farms and work places. Participants' and course evaluations showed the two TOF courses to be suitable both in substance and form and to have successfully attained their aim of training Facilitators to conduct FFS on the IPM of CPB.
Both MF and Facilitators after their training have started to organize and conduct FFS in early 2010. A total of three FFS (out of four FFS to be undertaken by the project) are now being conducted in three different locations and in varying stages of progress. Of the three on-going FFS, the one in Napapar, with 30 farmers, is in the most advanced stage with FFS training sessions in active progress. This FFS is expected to complete in May 2010. The 2nd FFS, with 33 farmers is in Kabaira. Farmer awareness and selection have been completed, including the baseline survey and a few initial FFS sessions. The 3rd FFS, with 32 farmers is in Kareeba. Farmer awareness and selection have been completed, with the baseline survey undertaken on 9 March 2010. A few initial FFS sessions have also been conducted.

The project Mid-Term Review Meeting was held at PNGCCIL at Tavilo on 17-18 March 2010. It was attended by 22 persons from project partner organizations and their associates. A total of 11 presentations were made covering status of infestation and management of CPB in PNG, progress of project activities, training and information dissemination, information resources, and partner insights. A visit was also made to the project FFS at Napapar. The meeting ended with a closed-door session for project partners.

During the meeting, participants were updated on various aspects and progress of the project, including identifying future work. These included:

1. CPB is continuing its spread in PNG, having found its way into cocoa of East Sepik, New Ireland, West New Britain and Bougainville. Management is clearly the only option in meeting the challenge of the pest, with awareness, training, establishment of demonstration blocks and research for constant improvement of said components being the main strategy.

2. On research, appropriate sampling intensities during delimiting surveys or post treatment census are essential for accurate reflection of CPB infestation as well as effectiveness of control inputs. There are indications from research of this project that current surveillance counts are under-sampling the CPB population, resulting in inability to detect low levels of infestation. Outputs of this project are expected to address this weakness. Sandwich trapping at cocoa canopy level has been shown to be a good alternative to current delta trapping, particularly when maximization of catches is important. This is another finding of the project that would improve monitoring of the pest. The use of improved planting material and development of biocontrol initiatives are important elements for strengthening integrated CPB management and should be priorities for future research.

3. Training modules and curriculum currently developed are appropriate and where they are successfully implemented, have provided encouraging results. The challenge is to ensure sustainability and expansion of training. Funding is always a constraint but the adoption of PAR and FFS approaches is expected to increase realization of these aims wherever training is carried out. The active participation of the private sector, e.g., AgMark's initiatives, will further contribute to these aims. Notwithstanding, the training curriculum must evolve to include additional aspects that would strengthen CPB control. Proper selection and training of trainers is also important in order to ensure their credibility and availability. Training must also always consider local culture and conditions in order to maximize acceptance by farmers.

4. Two posters on CPB biology and management and a multimedia DVD were presented during the meeting. These were well-received by participants. Corrections and amendments arising will however need to be incorporated.

5. Except for activities on evaluation of target pod spraying and demonstration plots, the project is generally on track. Dr. Ho spent considerable time in the week after the meeting to put the outstanding activities back on track. On training, the possibility of expanding FFS to a total of seven over the originally planned four sites will be explored.

6. Discussions between partners during and after the meeting led to consensus that 3 years was a short time for a project of the present scope and severity of the CPB problem. Even with the achievement of all the objectives of the project, outcomes can only at best be foundations for more extensive programmes for management of the pest. The priority will now be to finish the planned activities by end of the project in mid-2011 and propose a second phase to address additional work identified during the visit to further strengthen CPB management in PNG. A concept note on this has been submitted to ACIAR for their consideration.