Improving cocoa production through farmer involvement in demonstration trials of potentially superior and pest/disease resistant genotypes and integrated management practices

The opening workshop for the project was held in July 2007 and was attended by staff from Dinas Perkebunan, University of Hasanuddin and Mars Inc., farmer leaders and the project partners. The meeting provided an opportunity for presentations and group discussions addressing the key problems faced by cocoa smallholders. Visits made to farmer groups in South, South-East and West Sulawesi provinces during the year allowed project staff to explain the process of selecting and testing clones and its potential value in farm rehabilitation to farmers. Since many farmers wish to rehabilitate parts of their farms from seedling cocoa, trials were planned (under Objective 1) as part of a rehabilitation process on land cleared of unproductive trees by farmers. Six trials testing twelve clones in four replicate blocks have been established in the three provinces in the districts of Pinrang, North Luwu (Bone-bone), Polmas, North Kolaka and Kolaka (Lambandia, including one trial established by sidegrafting onto mature trees). One further trial is planned. Clones for testing were top-grafted onto rootstock seedlings in 2007 and, in early 2008, planted in trials at sites selected with the guidance of project staff from Mars Inc. Clones selected for the trials include genotypes with promising high-yielding or resistance characteristics identified by Mars Inc., a previous ACIAR project and local farmers. Two clones will be common to all the trials and act as standards. The project has initiated the establishment of a field facility for cocoa research in Soppeng, South Sulawesi on 5 hectares provided for field research by Dinas Perkebunan Selatan. This will form part of a cooperative effort under the Cocoa Sustainability Partnership (CSP), a forum of private and government agencies concerned with cocoa research and development in Sulawesi. A nursery and well with a pump have been constructed. The well will provide only some of the water needed for the ACIAR project trials. A further well will be required to provide sufficient water for the two trials planned at the site (Objective 2): to test hybrid progeny and selected clones against pests and diseases. Staff management, infra-structure requirements and organisational matters for the field centre were discussed in detail and responsibilities allocated. Hybrid crosses for the Soppeng trial site have already been made and seeds of some of these crosses produced. Also, trial sites have been marked out and temporary shade planted. But the establishment of the hybrid testing trial has been delayed by the higher-than-expected costs for preparing the site for planting. Approximately fifty genotypes for the clone testing trial at the Soppeng site have been grafted onto rootstock seedlings. A project staff member has commenced a PhD study at Gadjah Mada University (also part of Objective 2). The study will focus on forms of resistance in cocoa pods to cocoa pod borer. Meetings with farmer groups and extension officers established some priorities for research on options for pest/disease management (Objective 3). Feedback indicated that the major pest/disease concerns of farmers were Phytophthora pod rot and vascular-streak dieback. Demonstrations of cultural management methods (pruning, sanitation and fertiliser application) and phosphonate application were conducted in South-East Sulawesi. The phosphonate, to be tested against Phytophthora palmivora, is applied using slow-release implants placed in the stem and major branches. Further trials are planned for the coming year. In visits to farmer groups made by ICCRI, BRIEC and Australian project staff, feedback sessions were conducted in conjunction with practical training demonstrations. The basic design of a proposed cocoa management handbook relevant to Sulawesi farmers was discussed. However, to avoid confusing or conflicting advice it was decided that such educational material should be prepared in collaboration with other members of the CSP. The aims and methodology of a socio-economic study (for Objective 4) were discussed and farmer surveys were commenced in West and South Sulawesi. This study will be continued with surveys conducted at six monthly intervals in three provinces.

Evaluations of the cocoa trees in trials established in Polman, Kolaka, North Kolaka, North Luwu and Pinrang Districts, Sulawesi, each testing twelve cocoa clones, have commenced. These trials have provided data for individual clones on flowering and incidence of vascular-streak dieback (VSD), the most important disease affecting vegetative stages of cocoa. VSD has been identified as one of the most significant problems for farmers, many of whom wish to rehabilitate their farms with new cocoa clones or even change over to other crops as a result of the impact of this disease.

Australian project staff participated in a meeting hosted by a USAID funded project in Makassar (June 2008) to discuss the problem posed by the VSD epidemic. Further discussions on the nature of the VSD problem and possible management methods were held in a forum hosted by the Cocoa Sustainability Partnership (CSP). Project staff (Australian and Indonesian) also participated in a cocoa research conference hosted by the Indonesian Coffee and Cocoa Research Institute (ICCRI) and a workshop funded by the Australian government to initiate a new Indonesian government program aimed at revitalisation of cocoa farming in Sulawesi (GERNAS, Gerakan Nasional Percepatan Revitilisasi Kakao Sulawesi), both held in Bali in October/November 2008. The GERNAS workshop identified some major priorities requiring attention for optimal development of smallholder cocoa in Sulawesi and eastern Indonesia.

In field visits to VSD-affected areas in Java and Sulawesi, Australian project staff reassessed symptoms of VSD, which were found to differ from previous reports and descriptions. The reasons for these changed symptoms are unknown but could possibly be a result of declining nutrient status of the soil.

Progeny of ten hybrid crosses have been raised in the CSP (Cocoa Sustainability Partnership) nursery at Padali, Soppeng. A proportion of the seedlings obtained from seven crosses have been planted in the trial site in Padali and planting of the remaining seedlings is in progress. Temporary shade is provided by Moghania macrophylla and permanent shade trees have been planted. The establishment of the clone screening trial planned for the same location has been delayed due to failure of the grafted seedlings. More rootstock seedlings were prepared and they have been regrafted with more than seventy cocoa selections, including local Sulawesi selections. The clones will be transferred to the trial site in the next wet season.

Farmer group training sessions on cultural methods of pest and disease management were conducted by Indonesian Coffee and Cocoa Research Institute (and Biotechnology Research Institute for Estate Crops staff members accompanied by Australian project staff during two visits in 2008 and a further visit in 2009. Under the guidance of project staff members, management demonstration plots were established by a farmer group in North Luwu (adding to those established in Lambandia in the previous year). A trial was established in Bonebone to test three methods of phosphonate application on cocoa grafts infected with stem canker (caused by the pathogen Phytophthora palmivora). This builds upon a phosphonate trunk injection trial conducted by a previous ACIAR project, CP/2000/102, in Southeast Sulawesi that demonstrated effective control of canker using this method. Socioeconomic surveys to assess uptake among farmers of improved cocoa management techniques have been conducted in Polman and North Luwu with similar surveys planned for North Kolaka. Initial results of the surveys indicate a preference among farmers for labour-saving and high input technologies combined with a trend towards purchasing more land, rather than intensification of cocoa production on currently producing farms. This suggests that the main limitation to implementation of improved pest/disease control and general management methods is a labour shortage, and that highly labour-intensive management methods are unlikely to be adopted by farmers under the current socio-institutional settings of production.