ROSEAU, TUESDAY OCTOBER 07, 2020: The Cocoa Cluster Development Project of Dominica, managed by the Compete Caribbean Partnership Facility (CCPF) and the Dominica Export Import Agency (DEXIA) in collaboration with the Ministry of Blue and Green Economy, Agriculture and National Food Security, seeks input from agro-processors in effort to capture valuable data on the cocoa sub-sector, especially value-added aspects of the production cycle.
Cluster Manager, Taletha Laudat says the outreach is necessary because “the agro-processing subsector constitutes an important thrust for development particularly in small island developing states like ours; and therefore, agro-processors plays a critical role in revamping any industry. As such, current information is required to inform the cocoa cluster and related stakeholder agencies of the value-addition prospects in the cocoa agro-processing business.”
Information from this digital survey will be used for planning and evaluation by export agencies such as, DEXIA; production agencies like the Ministry of Agriculture and supporting agencies to include CCPF and other partners.
In 2019, DEXIA successfully applied for and received a grant of US$200,000.00 from the Compete Caribbean Partnership Facility (CCPF) towards the development of Dominica’s cocoa sector. Dominica is known for its Fine Flavoured cocoa and the cluster was created to revitalize the industry for improved competitiveness, performance, growth and employment. Ultimately the cluster will serve to encourage and ensure the consistent output of quality cocoa at various stages. The Cocoa Cluster Development Project has 5 improvement areas: Data Management, Pre and Post-Harvest, Change Management, Marketing and Labelling and Product Transformation and Development.
Upon this background, the survey seeks to harness information from agro-processors participating in cocoa value addition through the collection of reliable and up-to-date information on the scope of the cocoa agro-processing industry in Dominica. Fundamental to the high quality of value added products is a clear understanding of the processor needs and wants. Information from Processors is therefore critical to the success of this initiative.
Industry partners also include Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Dominica Manufacturers Association (DMA) and the United Nations Development Programme/ Global Environment Facility-Small Grants Programme (UNDP/GEF-SGP).
Interested persons can fill out the form by visiting www.dominica.gov/notices and clicking on Cocoa Agro-Processor Survey.
