Cocoa growers struggling against pests infestation
Cocoa growers struggling against pests infestation
Eva C. Komandjaja and Ruslan Sangadji, The Jakarta Post,
Jakarta/Palu
Cocoa farmers in the country are still struggling to cope with
a debilitating pest, which has been blamed as a factor in the
nation's declining output.
Vice chairman of the Indonesian Cocoa Association (Askindo)
Halim Abdul Razak said on Tuesday that the pest, known as the
cocoa moth (Conopomorpha cramerella) was found in 1995 in
Sulawesi and has spread to other areas in Indonesia.
"The pest can decrease cocoa farmers' productivity by up to 60
percent if they don't do anything to protect their plants," said
Halim.
He added that the country's cocoa growers now produce an
average of 700,000 kilograms of cocoa per hectare annually. The
productivity could rise to 2.5 -- 3 tons per hectare if farmers
treated their crops better and protected them from pests.
Askindo data shows that the country's cocoa production was
down to around the 400,000-ton level in 2003 from the previous
year's output of 433,411 tons. This year, Askindo does not have
high hopes of higher production and exports.
"We'd be pleasantly surprised if we can produce at the same
level as last year," Halim admitted.
Cocoa exports from Central Sulawesi, one of the country's main
producing region, declined from 88,220 tons in 2002 to 83,780
tons in 2003 with farmers largely blaming the decline on the
cocoa moth.
Trying to resolve the pest problem, Askindo together with the
American Cocoa Research Institute did an analysis from 1996 to
1998 to find a solution to overcome the problem.
The research resulted in the formulation of five steps that
cocoa farmers must do in order to handle the pest: tree pruning,
early harvesting once a week, balanced fertilizing, improved
sanitation and using plastic wrap on the plants.
He said that plastic could be the most effective way in
combating the cocoa moth, but it was also the most expensive,
costing an estimated Rp 800,000 (US$94) per hectare.
"Most farmers can't afford that," said Halim.
While some farmers can not afford to implement the program
recommended by Askindo, others have yet to implement it because
they are not aware of it.
"We need to educate the farmers about the program," Halim
said.
Askindo has donated some 500,000 high quality seeds to farmers
in Central Sulawesi, as they are believed to be immune to the
dreaded cocoa moth. However, Halim said that Askindo could not do
that for the rest of the country because it would be very
expensive.