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FANIC Kavira Nursery attendand Kyatsaba

GROWING A RESTORATIVE SUPPLY CHAIN FOR CHOCOLATE FROM VIRUNGA

 

Virunga National Park 

North Kivu, Eastern DRC

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Partners:

Original Beans Eco-Chocolate Company, Aquaculture, Sustainable Agriculture Development Initiatives (ASADI), Initiative du Developpement et l’Agroforesterie Durable (IDAD), Union des Femmes Agricultrices et Progressistes (UFAP), Association pour le Developpement et la Protection de l’Environnement (ADEP), Ligue des Organisations des Femmes Paysannes du Congo (LOFEPACO) and Associations des Jeunes pour le Developpement au Congo (AJDECO)

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Donors:

Food Retail Industry Challenge Fund (FRICH) on behalf of the DFID

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When:

2012-2015

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Target Audience:

10,000 women cocoa farmers

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Radio Programme:

Mali Shambani (‘Money in the Farm’) on 98Mhz Radio Tele Graben 

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Project Outcomes:

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LYF partnered with chocolate and conservation company Original Beans in North Kivu, DRC to establish the region as an origin of high-quality, organic cocoa. The project targeted 10,000 female cocoa smallholders based in the protected Virunga National Park to develop the supply chain for an eco-positive chocolate, using radio and SMS to support existing extension interventions in addressing issues of deforestation and agricultural practices. The weekly radio programmes were recorded with listener groups made up of female farmers and aired on Radio Tele Graben (RTG), reaching an audience of one million listeners.  In addition to training partners on participatory radio, workshops were also conducted for agricultural officers on agroforestry cocoa, conservation and extension methods. Over two years the project achieved the following outcomes:

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  • Increased demand for cocoa and shade tree seedlings, and set-up of private nurseries 

  • Improved understanding by cocoa farmers of market needs regarding quality and volume

  • Sevenfold increase in the volume of Virunga cocoa purchased with a quality premium by Original Beans 

  • Positive change in household and community perception of women as growers of cash crop

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Jasmin Bakula, presenter at RGT, commented that Farmers' Voice Radio

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“gives women the opportunity to contribute to the family income and also develop themselves through cocoa as a cash crop. It helps them find themselves and perhaps helps them find a place in society.” 

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