Repeatedly local people say the main issue contributing to the
decline of the fine cocoa sector in Trinidad is a lack of labour - people
unwilling to work in the cocoa fields.
But the real issue is that the entire Industry & Business
Model around which the Cocoa Sector was built - over 200 years ago - is, unsurprisingly,
obsolete. And no-one owned the responsibility to move the cocoa sector -
commercially - along with the times and the externalities that have evolved in
that time frame.
Trinidad now claims the parameter metrics to be a "First
World" country with salaries and cost of living to match. In parallel,
considerable urban migration has occurred and much of what is left behind in
the countryside is not sustainable in this country's new economic reality.
No, the REAL issues facing Trinidad's Cocoa Sector (and
agriculture in general) are about PRODUCTIVITY, VALUE-ADD and, resultantly, WAGE
UNCOMPETITIVENESS. And in the same way the country has been industrialized - thanks to oil and gas - so too should the
agricultural sector move into the modern 21st Century. Through incorporating technology
into farming practices, extracting value-add through more agro-processing and via
higher incomes from quality assurance, branding and specialization.
What the Trinidad Cocoa sector has still going for it is a
wonderful legacy of world class quality fine cocoa beans, top cocoa genetic research, accompanying
cocoa gene bank and people still passionate for COCOA. There is cheap power available in the country
and a dynamic entrepreneurial chocolatier group who are making their own way in
converting cocoa beans grown locally into value-add drinks and foods.
The challenge remains in the countryside where the average
age of the cocoa farmer now probably exceeds 60 years old. In order for them to
pay third parties the going wage to tend to their land and trees - bush
clearing, pruning, harvesting etc. - they have to make a lot more money from
the ENTIRE associated commercial activity.
Ideally, and a quick solution, would be to get a higher
price for their cocoa beans harvested. This relies to some extent on the main
buyer in the domestic marketplace - the Coffee and Cocoa Industry Board. There
have been some positive changes here in recent times.
But the cocoa farmer should also ensure that the yield the
tree per tree is maximized through good land and crop management - planting
high yielding trees, pruning them, fertilizing them, reaping properly, minimizing
losses, ensuring optimal pollination etc. The solution here is to have teams of
workers specialized in these skills and equipped with modern tools and vehicles
to execute the work quickly and efficiently. Automation of Labour and Specialization of Labour.
The farmer could additionally increase the financial returns
from their farm by partaking in the processing of the beans themselves into
value-add products - either as a collective of growers or some other
arrangement with the end-processors. This solution moves the farmer from
subsistence commodity growing to an aspect of an entrepreneurial agro-processor.
Other income earning opportunities include incorporating tourism
related activities and environmental related actions into the cocoa farming
venture.
The obvious question though is why with, Trinidad's access
to cheap energy, hasn't there been industrial type transformation of the cocoa agricultural
activity? All this could be about to change in 2013 with the proposal to build
a Chocolate Factory in the country by the CFCF.
The Caribbean Fine Cocoa Forum (CFCF) is the leading organisation in the Caribbean
innovating and implementing novel practical solutions to transform the fine cocoa
sector into a sustainable entity. CFCF, with the support from Compete Caribbean Programme - funded by CIDA and DfID and managed by the Inter-American Development Bank - has submitted plans to mobilize stakeholders to build and operate this facility. This multi-purpose facility, centred around a mini-factory, will provide a game changing catalyst to the entire Caribbean cocoa sector.
We eagerly await the development and implementation of these
plans - see news and projects on the CFCF website at www.caribbeanfinecocoaforum.org.
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