The Northeast Cocoa Producers Cooperative received funding from Australian Aid to train young people in the growing of quality Cocoa. It is an income generating project to produce quality cocoa to improve and sustain the Cocoa Industry in Dominica, and to benefit from this thriving worldwide industry.
The target is 45 youth aged 18 to 40, mainly from the North East, to grow and add value to cocoa. Utilizing the Farmer Field School Method (Learning by Doing) participants will, over a period of 3 months, attend 12 weekly sessions on topics including land preparation, pod selection, grafting, pruning, Pest and Disease Control. Farm visits, demonstrations and group presentations form an integral part of the training. An important component is sessions on Social and Business Skills.
To date, 13 people were successfully trained and a nursey established. With the donation of plants from the Ministry of Blue and Green Economy, Agriculture and National Food Security, and guidance from the staff of the Ministry, participants used the Cooperative Koudmain method, to establish their own cocoa plots, positioning themselves to benefit from the billion dollar worldwide Cocoa Industry.
The growing of this crop is being promoted to assist with government’s effort to further develop the Cocoa Industry in Dominica and recover from the destruction caused by Hurricane Maria. Significantly, the type of Cocoa grown in Dominica is of high quality, fine flavor cocoa. One Member of the Cooperative, Mr. Stewart Paris, who is the CEO of Paris Family Farm Inc, won the International Cocoa Award in the Cocoa of Excellence competition for Dominica in 2017, for best quality and flavor.
At present, interested persons from the North East: Kalinago Territory through to Bense and Anse De Mai, are being invited to register at their village council office, to participate in this training programme, scheduled to begin on February 10th, 2022.
The training is free. This includes transportation and refreshments.
Cooperatives are community enterprises, or put simply, represent the economic arm of community development. As such, all efforts are made to increase the production of goods and services and the creation of employment at the local level.
Cooperatives assisted with, and continue to play an integral role in the economic and social development of Dominica, the Caribbean and the world.
Maintaining the growing and processing of cocoa in Dominica is a tradition that must be sustained, given its potential for earning foreign exchange, and the creation of employment.
We invite young people to take advantage of this interesting training programme.
