Cocoa Fertilizer Annual Report 2015

Cocoa Fertilizer Initiative

Annual Report 2015 May 2016

Introduction

Dear reader, In 2015, the Cocoa Fertilizer Initiative brought together its membership to build experience and expertise on plant nutrition and soil fertility management in Côte d’Ivoire’s cocoa belt. Researchers in the Scientific Committee discussed on the methodology of soil & leaf sampling and analysis. Commercial partners debated risk sharing facilities for their distribution models. The Initiative balanced between better understanding of plant nutrition and soil fertility while at the same time makings thing happen on the ground. Together, cocoa exporters and fertilizer distributors facilitated the distribution of more than 4,500 MT of fertilizer, or close to 10% of the cocoa fertilizer market, through Service Delivery Models with relative low risks for farmers, cooperatives and industry. Pilots started to combine training and coaching with close to 5,000 farmers, to find a way that farmers can be further supported and assisted in their farm development planning.

In 2016, the last year of its prototyping phase, the Cocoa Fertilizer Initiative will make efforts to capitalize on the lessons learnt. Over the course of the year the Initiative will share its gained experiences through working sessions, field trips and publications. The outcome will function as the basis for strategy development for the years to come. Specific emphasis will be placed on: •

Assuring the industry members have developed solid service delivery models they can use for upscaling

•

Publishing the Soil Mapping and the launch of testing the revised fertilizer formulas

•

Creating clarity on fertilizer readiness and the farmer business case

•

Developing training tools accessible to farmers based on the content of the harmonized manuals

We hope this report enlightens you on some of the results of the Initiative’s activities in 2015. In the first section we provide a general introduction to the Cocoa Fertilizer Initiative for those that are less familiar with the activities, sharing the background of the Initiative and providing an overview of its general objectives and governance structure. The second section dives into the progress made in 2015 around the four main pillars of the Initiative: the Company Action Plans and the three pre-competitive pillars, (namely the Knowledge Agenda, Enabling Environment and Training & Dissemination), as well as the functioning of the Secretariat.

Contents

Section 1 - Background

3

About the Cocoa Fertilizer Initiative

4

Raison d’etre

4

Goal and approach

4

Company Action Plans

4

Governance 5 Section 2 - Results 2015 Company Action Plans

7 8

Knowledge Agenda

13

Enabling Environment

17

Training & Dissemination

19

Secretariat 20 Contact 22

List of Abbreviations ANADER

L’Agence nationale d’appui au développement rural

CIRAD

Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement

CNRA

Centre National de Recherche Agronomique

IFDC

International Fertilizer Development Centre

Cocoa Fertilizer Initiative - Annual Report 2015

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Section 1 Background

3

About the Cocoa Fertilizer Initiative The Cocoa Fertilizer Initiative aims to return soil fertility to key cocoa growing regions in Côte d’Ivoire.

Goal and approach

In doing so, the Initiative limits farm expansion

The Cocoa Fertilizer Initiative aims to identify and

and deforestation by enabling farmers to improve

deliver fertilizer to 200,000 cocoa farmers in Côte

their livelihoods by turning cocoa farming into a

d’Ivoire by 2020. Key actions include:

sustainable business. The Initiative is funded by the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF), Le Conseil du Café-

•

Bringing cocoa fertilizer to farm level using the

Cacao and fertilizer suppliers, and is implemented in

existing value chains and delivery mechanisms

partnership with IDH, the Sustainable Trade Initiative

in the cocoa and fertilizer industry

(IDH)1 . Launched in Abidjan on November 21, 2012, the Initiative is a mainstream, public-private consortium

•

Making fertilizer financially accessible to cocoa

of the cocoa industry, fertilizer industry, cocoa

farmers stimulating competition and economies

traders, civil society organizations and government.

of scale

It collaborates closely with CocoaAction, a strategy set out by WCF to coordinate and align the cocoa

•

sustainability efforts of the world’s largest cocoa

Ensuring proper training and guidance for fertilizer use at farm level

and chocolate companies. CocoaAction aims to build a rejuvenated and economically viable cocoa

•

Promoting shared knowledge, including studies

sector that can compete with alternative crops and

on yield response, the farmer business case, and

provide opportunities for no fewer than 200,000

farmers’ readiness for fertilizer uptake

cocoa farmers and the cocoa communities in Côte d’Ivoire by 2020. In the future, the Initiative will

•

develop strategies for addressing soil fertility in

Engaging the Ivorian government through its national platform

Ghana and Nigeria.

These actions are being incorporated into the action plans of companies participating in the cocoa

Raison d’etre

fertilizer initiative. The starting point of these plans

Due to decades of poor agricultural practices, the soils that underpin cocoa farms in West Africa are now significantly depleted – the lack of soil nutrients is a critical issue preventing cocoa productivity. On average, the current level of soil fertility on cocoa

is individual cocoa companies identifying fertilizerready farmers in their supply base, and making independent agreements with fertilizer companies to

train

and

distribute

fertilizer

to

selected

entrepreneurial farmers.

farms in West Africa is less than 10% of what is

Company Action Plans 2015

necessary for productive farming.

There is also little land is left for expansion, which

•

>4,500 MT of fertilizer distributed to >7,000

means increased production of cocoa must come

farmers through existing relations in the cocoa

from intensification on existing farms.

value chain (>70% of accumulative 2015 target

Increased

fertilizer use combined with good agricultural

achieved).

practices and improved planting materials are means to this end. They enable cocoa farmers to maintain

•

Shift toward farm finance model; 80% of volume

or enhance their crops, and increase their ability to

distributed from supplier to coop is on credit

cope with and recover from external pressures.

basis.

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The plans are monitored by IDH, the secretariat of the Initiative, and supported by activities and projects organized under pillars; the main activities in 2015 within these pillars are summarized below:

risks through saving schemes, strict credit mechanisms and support from MFIs. •

AFAP’s capacity building project on responsible fertilizer marketing was approved and launched in July 2015. In September, 17 coops/agrodealers were selected for the program and trainers were trained.

•

“Quick Scan” of the fertilizer market made by IFDC, aiming to get an overview of the cocoa fertilizer market in Côte d’Ivoire.

Knowledge Agenda The core function of the knowledge agenda is to build and disseminate the necessary knowledge on suitable fertilizer formulas and cocoa plant nutrition, including farmer’s “fertilizer readiness” and the business case for farmers to apply fertilizer application. Achievements in 2015 include: •

First publication of CIRAD’s research on variability in yield response to fertilizer, farmer ROI and fertilizer readiness.

•

Review paper published on cocoa nutrition, aiming to provide an overview of the current sector knowledge on this topic.

•

CNRA soil mapping shared with Initiative members and ready for publication; draft fertilizer recommendations formulated.

•

Supervisory Committee recommended further fine-tuning the fertilizer recommendations through meetings with representatives of the Country and Scientific Committees.

Training & Dissemination The training and dissemination agenda aims to develop and improve the quality of content shared, and the form of knowledge transferred on the topics of soil fertility and fertilizer application.

Achievements in 2015 include: •

Increasing interest in coaching in addition to training of farmers: Initiative members are currently testing coaching methods. A brief capturing the challenges and successes of these coaching methods will be published in the first quarter of 2016.

•

Preliminary version of the harmonized training manuals distributed to partners for testing in the field. Based on their feedback, a verification workshop is being prepared for early 2016 to finalize the first official version of the manuals.

Enabling Environment An enabling environment was designed to support the public and financial sectors with policy formulation. Activities include testing risk sharing mechanisms and increasing the shared knowledge base on fertilizer quality. Some of the concrete achievements in 2015 include: •

•

Two (instead of five as planned) Agribusiness Partnership Contracts (APCs) signed to share risk of fertilizer distribution, so far facilitating the distribution of >150 MT of fertilizer.

Governance The Initiative has established a governance structure to oversee implementation and provide guidance in Côte d’Ivoire. This structure is comprised of three committees and supported by the secretariat.

•

The Supervisory Committee steers the strategy of the overall Initiative, meets twice a year, and is composed of representatives from government and industry.

Cocoa companies tested other ways to mitigate

Cocoa Fertilizer Initiative - Annual Report 2015

_____________________ 1 Funding contracts have been signed with WCF, Conseil Café 5 Cacao, LDC, Yara, OCP and Cémoi.

•

The Scientific Committee safeguards the independence and scientific rigor of the knowledge agenda.

It assesses methodologies, reports on the Initiative’s research activities, and builds out new research activities when needed.

•

The Country Committee provides guidance on the operational implementation in country, ensures alignment with extension work, and disseminates the appropriate messages to farmers. Meeting four times a year, it is composed of representatives from government, industry and research institutions.

The Scientific and Country Committees report to the Supervisory Committee.

The Cocoa Fertilizer Initiative governance structure

Supervisory Committee

Scientific Committee

Country Committee

Chaired by Mme Touré-Litse

Chaired by Prof Giller

Chaired by Mme Tanoé (Le Conseil du Café-

(Le Conseil du Café-Cacao)

(WUR)

Cacao)

ADM

Brandt

ADM

Intertek

AFAP

CNRA

AFAP

LDC

ANADER

IDH

ANADER

Mars

Cargill

IITA

Barry Callebaut

Mondelez

CNRA

LDC

Blommer

Nestlé

IDH

Mars

Brandt

OCP

LDC

Nestlé

Cargill

OLAM

WCF

OCP

CNRA

Cémoi

WCF

ECOM

Solidaridad

WUR

Ferrero

WCF

Yara

ICRAF

Yara

IDH

6

Section 2 Results 2015

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Company Action Plans – fertilizer training and distribution Through training and distribution of fertilizer, Initiative members make fertilizer accessible and available to self-selected farmers.

Summary table: Company Action Plans Targets

Key Results

•

Distribute at least 6,000 MT of fertilizer to close to 10,000 farmers

•

Further fine-tune distribution models

•

Pilot coaching approaches

•

>4,500 MT of fertilizer distributed to >7,000 farmers through existing relations in the cocoa value chain (>70% of accumulative 2015 target achieved)

•

Growing interest among industry partners for farmer coaching

•

Shift towards farm finance model

Deviations

•

Learning publication on service delivery models delayed to 2016

Challenges

•

Farmer’s preferences to work with credit

•

Cooperative’s capacity to manage the credit portfolio

•

Organization of the logistics from town to cooperative

•

Monitoring of training and fertilizer distribution activities on the ground

•

Effective saving schemes during the main harvesting season provide

Lessons learned

farmers with means to invest in soil fertility Next steps

•

Learning on service delivery models to continue fine-tuning of distribution models

•

Learning on coaching of farmers

All farmer-facing cocoa companies participating in the Cocoa Fertilizer Initiative formulated a 2015 Action Plan on how to train farmers on fertilizer application and how to distribute fertilizer. These Company Action Plans support those farmers ready to invest in fertilizer to obtain the necessary know-how, while at the same time making fertilizer more available and accessible.

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Scope of activities Target 2015

Results as per Oct 31, 2015

Number of farmers to receive fertilizer

9,625

>7,411

Number of hectares fertilized

9,215

-

MT of fertilizer applied (0-15-15 or 0-23-19)

5,972

>4,581

Number of cooperatives involved

123

79

Number of extension agents involved

736 (including 644

-

ANADER agents) + 361 “lead farmers”

Targets and results presented per company (anonimized) in the graph to the left.

The darker colors represent the targets set by the partner company; the lighter colors represent the results achieved so far. The percentage above the bars (“share of total results”) indicates how much the results of one partner company contribute to the overall result. For example, company 2 has contributed 9% of the overall volume (MT).

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Training on fertilizer use As collectively agreed, all farmer-facing companies want to ensure that fertilizer is only distributed to farmers who have received sufficient agronomic and economic training. Most supply chain partners share the training responsibility with the fertilizer industry. Farmer field schools and demonstration plots are still the main tools used to train on fertilizer application, though tailored training tools have been developed to transfer knowledge on fertilizer application.

A key innovation this year has been the shift from training to coaching. It was observed that proper guidance for fertilizer use at farm level should support farmers in making the right choices on fertilizer application and a ‘farm development plan’. This requires intensive interaction with the farmers which goes beyond the yearly training sessions and occasional farm visit of the lead farmer. The availability of a coaching mechanism for those farmers interested in a thorough planning of a multi-year fertilizer application demands the local presence of an (ANADER) agronomist that can directly interact with the farmer on his own farm. Additional training and or communication material may need to be developed to assist the agronomist and farmer in the coaching trajectory. A strong self-assessment and monitoring system needs to be put in place which can guide the farmer in his decision process.

Three partners – Barry Callebaut, Cémoi and ECOM/MDLZ – are investing in such activities by coaching farmers. Their main objectives are to promote the adoption of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and to help farmers make better investments decisions regarding their individual cocoa plantations. The aggregate target of those partners is to have started coaching 5,000 farmers by mid-2016. In the first half of 2015, the partners built the content of the coaching curriculum and trained the agronomists engaged as coaches. The key questions for those partners are how to effectively select farmers eligible for this coaching service, and how to design a coaching methodology that adds the most value.

Distribution models We see that two different distribution models are generally used within the Cocoa Fertilizer Initiative: the credit model and the cash & carry/savings model. From fertilizer supplier to cooperatives, about 80% of fertilizers distributed runs through credit schemes, while the cash & carry/saving models accounts for 20% of fertilizers distributed. In the credit model, farmers take credit through their cooperatives. They usually make an upfront payment to the cooperative, which in turn orders, receives and distributes the fertilizers to the farmers, often with assistance from an MFI and/or cocoa exporter. Repayments then have to be made from the farmers to the cooperatives, which then repay the bank/lender. In the cash & carry/saving model, farmers either save during the harvest season or pay for fertilizer when the money is available. In these cases, the fertilizer is paid for before it is provided to the farmer.

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The Micro Finance Institution Advans plays a key role in the credit model. Farmers deposit a 20% guarantee through Advans, which in turn pays the fertilizer company 85-90% of fertilizer supply price. Once all the loans have been reimbursed, Advans pays the remainder to fertilizer companies. Advans has seen its operations on credits in the cocoa sector grow exponentially over the last few years. Repayment rates are high at ~95% from farmer to coop and 100% from cooperative to Advans.

In 2015, AFAP made US $400,000 available as a 50% risk-sharing facility for which the Initiative members could apply. However, of the five members that had initially expressed an interest, only two signed an “Agribusiness Partnership Contract” (APC), and a total of US $172,920 has been provided to them as guarantee. It encompasses 28 cooperatives and facilitates the mobilization of 200 MT of fertilizer.

Learning on service delivery models and fertilizer distribution From the start of the Cocoa Fertilizer Initiative, three theoretical service delivery models (SDMs) were identified, which the cocoa industry implements in varying configurations to distribute fertilizer. The generic SDMs are: 1.

cash & carry, where farmers directly buy fertilizer using cash

2. fertilizer-for-beans, where the costs of pre-financing fertilizer are reimbursed through the price of cocoa 3. farm financing (i.e. credit) where cooperatives facilitate farmers with individual or shared loans to buy fertilizer.

The table below summarizes the main challenges and key innovations as identified by partners:

Cash & Carry

Fertilizer for Beans

Farm Finance

Key challenges

Key challenges

Key challenges

Farmers prefer to work with credit

Cooperative takes all the risk

Cooperative’s capacity to manage the credit portfolio

Key innovations

Key innovations

Saving scheme during the main harvesting

“Beans-for-fertilizer”

Key innovations

season

Across financing models Key challenges •

Organizing the logisitics from town to cooperative

•

Cooperatives sold to farmers without training

Key innovations •

Coaching of farmers

Learning papers have not yet been published on the experiences of fertilizer training and distribution although information has been gathered. In 2016, we plan more resources and energy to be focused on sharing the learning experiences of Initiative members. Key topics will include the different distribution models, the concept of fertilizer readiness, and the experiences gained in terms of coaching farmers.

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Knowledge Agenda Initiative members worked together to build and disseminate knowledge on fertilizer formula and cocoa nutrition, “fertilizer readiness” and the business case for fertilizer application.

Summary table: Knowledge Agenda Targets

• • •

Key Results

• • • •

•

Share latest insights on variability in yield response to fertilizer, farmer ROI and fertilizer readiness in an accessible manner Publish soil mapping report and fertilizer recommendations Build (research) partnerships for further knowledge generation in the field of cocoa soils and cocoa nutrition First publication of CIRAD’s research on variability in yield response to fertilizer, farmer ROI and fertilizer readiness Review paper published on cocoa nutrition, aiming to provide an overview of the current state of sector knowledge on this topic CNRA soil mapping shared with Initiative members and ready for publication; draft fertilizer recommendations formulated Supervisory Committee recommended further fine-tuning the fertilizer recommendations through meetings with representatives of the Country and Scientific Committees Scientific Committee brought together renowned scientists from academia, national research institutions, and industry R&D; this creates opportunities for public-private collaborations on research into cocoa nutrition

Course changes

•

Based on the Supervisory Committee’s advice to further fine-tune the fertilizer recommendations, an ad-hoc subcommittee composed of members of the Scientific Committee and Country Committee is working closely with CNRA towards a validated version of the fertilizer recommendations

Challenges

•

Ensuring the quality of the research conducted while working against tight deadlines

Lessons learned

•

Close communication between the members of the Scientific Committee and the implementing partners (as established during the Côte d’Ivoire visit) facilitates the virtuous cycle towards improved research quality

Next steps

•

Profitability of fertilizer recommendations to be analyzed and an extension plan developed together with ANADER Continuation of CIRAD research in collaboration with Wageningen University on the yield variance, ROI and concept of “fertilizer readiness”.

Two publications planned in April and November 2016.

Establishment of a database giving Initiative members access to the CNRA and CIRAD data Creation of a research “spin-off” by elaborating study based on long-term multifactorial trials to gain fundamental knowledge of cocoa nutrition

•

• •

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Soil mapping and fertilizer recommendations (CNRA/CIRAD) In October 2015, CNRA delivered the soil mapping report based on thorough data collection and analysis using the Soil Diagnostic Tool. Using the insights from this soil mapping report, draft fertilizer recommendations were shared with the Scientific Committee which were discussed during the committee’s meeting on October 27, 2015. In November, an ad-hoc subcommittee was formed composed of representatives of both the Scientific and Country Committees to provide the CNRA team with direct feedback and further insights in order to fine-tune the fertilizer recommendations. This working group has been supporting CNRA on a weekly basis to finalize the improved fertilizer recommendations based on the data and knowledge currently available.

Fertilizer monitoring and testing (CIRAD/ALP) In 2015, CIRAD/ALP continued collecting data at 140 farmer plots, which resulted in two preliminary reports.

These results were also shared with in-country partners during a working session in September in Abidjan. The reports focused on explaining the yield variance, showing evidence of a number of observations regarding farmers’ willingness and readiness to apply fertilizer on their cocoa plantations.

“Factors affecting famers’ adoption of fertilizer”?

Higher revenues: As a prerequisite, farmers are rational and buy fertilizer when cocoa revenues are high enough and fertilizer prices are kept at a reasonable cost. The relative prices of cocoa and fertilizer highly influence the purchasing decision. The cocoa-to-fertilizer price ratio must be close to 3 or even above 3. The strength of this ratio was proven through the history of fertilizer adoption (Ruf and Kiendré 2012). The rise of the current cocoa price to 1,000 CFA/kg in October also demonstrates the validity of this ratio through a significant increase in fertilizer purchases in 2015/16.

Unsuited soils: A major factor is the geographical/ecological situation: farmers are much more likely to buy fertilizer when their farms are located southwest of the Sassandra river, because of an increased risk of soil-related tree mortality.

Fertilizer as a medicine: As demonstrated in the fertilizer tests, most farmers prefer to apply fertilizer on old cocoa farms. They consider fertilizer a “medicine” to save old and/or degraded trees. The younger age of the cocoa trees in San Pedro partially explains why fertilizer adoption in the region lagged behind that in Soubré in the 2000s. But this could change rapidly with the ageing of cocoa trees in the 2010s.

Even independently of the age of the cocoa farm, most farmers prefer to apply fertilizer in the farm plot with the lowest yields, again seeing fertilizer as a medicine rather than as a tool to boost an already efficient farm.

(Excerpt from CIRAD/ALP 2016 proposal)

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The

Scientific

Committee

has

expressed

its

In addition to the field visits, a Cocoa Soil & Nutrition

continuing interest in the results of the practical

Knowledge Forum was organized on April 30 in

experiments. The database, including data from

Abidjan. During the Forum, CNRA, CIRAD, IITA

the plots where nitrogen-containing fertilizers have

and Wageningen University presented their latest

been applied since late 2014, will be shared with the

findings on cocoa soils and nutrition.

members of the Scientific Committee to provide support to the CIRAD/ALP team. In 2016, deeper

Besides reviewing the ongoing research of CNRA

analysis has been proposed, which should also be

and

supported by completed data collection in the third

renowned

season (until Aug 2016).

research institutions and industry R&D. This creates

CIRAD,

the

committee

scientists

from

brings

academia,

together national

the opportunity for public-private collaborations on

Input of the Scientific Committee The Knowledge Agenda pillar of the Cocoa Fertilizer Initiative is guided by the Scientific Committee, which was put in place in August 2014. The committee has been in close contact with the implementing partners CNRA and CIRAD to improve the quality

research into cocoa nutrition. To build the required knowledge for the next generations, a research agenda including multifactorial trial design needs to be developed for consideration by the stakeholders involved. In 2016, this plan will be further elaborated to establish partnerships and to scope (external) funding opportunities.

of the research work. The committee’s visit to Côte d’Ivoire, which took place between April 27 and May 1, 2015, was instrumental to this. The main objectives of the visit were to: •

give the committee on-the-ground experience of the Fertilizer Initiative;

•

review the work of CNRA and CIRAD;

•

discuss the knowledge gaps on cocoa nutritional management and the future research agenda with local stakeholders.

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Enabling Environment Initiative member will work together to support the public and private sectors, including the financial sector, to formulate policies through testing investments and increasing shared knowledge.

Summary table: Enabling Environment Targets

•

Support 5 partners with risk sharing through an Agribusiness Partnership Contract

Key Results

•

Establish a fertilizer price monitoring system

•

Gain further insights in the Ivorian cocoa fertilizer market

•

Two Agribusiness Partnership Contracts (APCs) signed to share risk of fertilizer distribution, so far facilitating the distribution of >150 MT of fertilizer

•

Cocoa companies tested other ways to mitigate risks through saving schemes, strict credit mechanisms, and support from MFIs

•

AFAP’s capacity building project on responsible fertilizer marketing was approved and launched in July 2015. In September, 17 coops/agro-dealers were selected for the program and trainers were trained

•

“Quick Scan” of the fertilizer market made by IFDC, aiming to get an overview of the cocoa fertilizer market in Côte d’Ivoire

Course changes

•

Two instead of five APCs were signed, no defaults noted yet and as such no disbursements from the guarantee fund have been made

•

Results from the Fertilizer Market Quick Scan have shown little variation in the price of fertilizers between regions. This has prompted members to suggest shifting the focus from price monitoring to quality monitoring

Challenges

•

The lack of clear data and information on up-country realities (fertilizer prices; existence/state of agro-dealer network) hampered strategy setting for the Initiative and its members

Lessons learned

•

No major lessons learned captured

Next steps

•

Gather members’ input on next steps regarding risk sharing to facilitate the distribution of fertilizer

•

Monitor fertilizer quality in 2016

Based on the interest expressed among Initiative members, AFAP aimed to sign five APCs to facilitate the distribution and sale of at least 2,050 MT of fertilizer by the end of 2015. However, only two APCs have been signed to date. Initiative members have explained that the main reason for their reluctance to make use of the risk-sharing facility is the relatively high risk they take on when signing an APC (AFAP cannot provide more than 50% guarantee; the other 50% comes from the value chain partners being cooperatives, exporters and/or fertilizer suppliers). Some Initiative members explained that risks are minimized by working through cooperatives on the cash & carry/savings model and with Advans on the credit model.

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To improve capacity building and responsible fertilizer marketing, a proposal for a coop/agro-dealer network development program in the Côte d’Ivoire cocoa belt has been drafted by AFAP, which was approved by the Supervisory Committee in June 2015. In September, 16 agro-dealers (comprising 12 cooperatives and 4 independent agro-dealers) were selected in close collaboration with the Initiative members. In cooperation with Conseil du Café Cacao and ANADER, AFAP prepared a curriculum for agro-dealer training and “train the trainer” modules. The training materials are tailored to serve the Ivorian cocoa sector and the Initiative’s goal.

They focus on relevant agro-dealer business topics such as bookkeeping, marketing, trade credit and finance, physical plant requirements, safe input storage and handling. Trainers were trained with these materials during an intensive two-week session.

At the end of 2014, Initiative members identified the need to monitor fertilizer prices in order to better understand the farmer business case on the one hand and market dynamics on the other. The tender procedure resulted in two candidates being shortlisted to present their final proposal to the Supervisory Committee during their June 2015 meeting. Neither of the candidates was found to be a suitable implementing partner for the tendered work.

Meanwhile a Quick Scan of the fertilizer market was conducted by IFDC, aiming to better understand the fertilizer market in Côte d’Ivoire. It includes an analysis of fertilizer consumption since 2010, cost structures and farmers’ behavior in terms of fertilizer consumption. The Quick Scan demonstrated that there are no significant price variations by region and distributor. This has prompted members to suggest shifting the focus from price monitoring to quality monitoring.

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Training & Dissemination Initiative members will work together to develop and improve both the form and content of knowledge sharing on soil fertility and fertilizer application.

Summary table: Training & Dissemination Targets

Key Results

•

Publish harmonized training manuals

•

Pilot coaching approaches

•

Shift from training to coaching: three cocoa companies are now testing coaching methods

•

Preliminary version of the harmonized training manuals distributed to partners for testing in the field. Based on their feedback, a verification workshop is being prepared for early 2016 to finalize the first official version of the manuals

Course changes

•

No major course changes

Challenges

•

Moving from training to adoption of GAP remains a challenge; it has yet to be proven that coaching effectively addresses this challenge

Lessons learned

•

No major lessons learned captured

Next steps

•

The Secretariat is facilitating the learning from the coaching experiences of the three partners. A brief capturing the challenges and successes of their coaching methods will be published in the first quarter of 2016

•

FIRCA is currently summarizing partners’ observations on the harmonized training manual – this will serve as a basis for the verification workshop

In 2014, Initiative members provided detailed input on the harmonized manuals for “train the trainer” and for farmer training. The version ready for field testing was published and shared during the plenary session of the PPPP in April 2015. Hard copies of this version were shared with partners, and an online tool was provided for partners to provide their input. FIRCA is currently summarizing this feedback, which will serve as a basis for the verification workshop.

There has been a growing interest among Initiative members for coaching – in other words, assisting farmers ready to invest in the rehabilitation of their farms with the necessary expert guidance. After a call for proposals in early 2015, IDH selected three piloting projects2 for which co-funding was made available. After the first few months of implementation, partners began to see results while learning about the challenges in the field.

A key challenge has been not only finding the appropriate coaching methods, but also identifying which farmers are eligible and ready for coaching. This, plus the time required to visit an individual farmer, may become a barriers in upscaling these coaching investments. For these reasons, it is important to understand for how long (and with what intensity) a farmer needs to be coached in order to succeed. The Secretariat is facilitating the learning from the coaching experiences of the three partners. A brief capturing the challenges and successes of their coaching methods will be published in the first half of 2016. _____________________ 2 IDH reviewed the proposals with support of an external expert; the proposals by Barry Callebaut, Cémoi and ECOM/MDLZ were then selected for co-investment Cocoa Fertilizer Initiative - Annual Report 2015

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Secretariat The secretariat’s role is to facilitate the smooth functioning of the program in terms of proper timing, clear communications and satisfaction among stakeholders in achieving results.

Summary table: Secretariat Key Results

•

Functioning governance

•

Two “Fertilizer Bulletins” published

Course changes

•

No major course changes

Challenges

•

No major challenges encountered

•

Maintaining active engagement of 15+ stakeholders requires stronger communication

Next steps

•

Approval of 2016 plan in Supervisory Committee meeting in early December 2015

•

Regular communication and direct interaction with individual partners to maintain engagement

In 2015, the Country Committee and Scientific Committee met in February, April and November, providing input for the Supervisory Committee’s meeting held in June and December. Attendance at the meetings of the Country and Scientific Committees was representative of the full Cocoa Fertilizer Initiative membership base.

A regular “Fertilizer Bulletin” is published by the secretariat to keep Initiative members and interested partners up to date on the Initiative’s progress. The first edition was sent in January and the second followed in July 2015. In addition, two publications from the work on the Knowledge Agenda were shared: “Testing Fertilizer on Farm Plots”, based on the first insights from CIRAD’s research work, and “Mineral Nutrition of Cocoa”, a review of the existing literature on cocoa nutrition published by Wageningen University.

The funding contracts with Conseil du Café Cacao, LDC, OCP, Yara and Cémoi were signed in the first few months of 2015, which means all commitments for funding have now been formalized.

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Contact Renske Aarnoudse IDH Country Manager Côte d’Ivoire aarnoudse@idhsustainabletrade.com

Laetitia Aney IDH Program Officer Côte d’Ivoire aney@idhsustainabletrade.com

Partners: The Cocoa Fertilizer Initiative is funded by the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF), Le Conseil du Café-Cacao, and fertilizer suppliers and is implemented in partnership with IDH, the Sustainable Trade Initiative.

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