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.