Central Sulawesi has long been the largest producer of cocoa in Indonesia, but since the devastating 2018 earthquake and the equally destructive tsunami that followed, cocoa production has been very low.
Many cocoa farmers were impacted by the earthquake, including Tanriani, who lives in Bangga village with her husband and their three children. They lost their family home, and it became very difficult to access food and clean water.
But the flash floods one month later were even “worse than the earthquake,” she says – especially for farmers.
By using cocoa trees that are still standing and adding better quality cocoa plants to them, the process of grafting allows Tanriani to harvest sooner, instead of waiting to grow new trees. (Photo: Frank Spangler)
In addition to providing emergency humanitarian assistance in the aftermath of the earthquake, ADRA Indonesia (supported by ADRA Canada) constructed cocoa plant nurseries and opened farmer field schools for people like Tanriani who were interested in improving their skills.
Tanriani was selected as a lead farmer in the agriculture and livelihoods program, and for three months, ADRA Indonesia staff conducted bi-weekly learning sessions on cocoa management practices on her farm. This included learning how to graft, among other practices that were new to Tanriani.
“On our small plot, we used to harvest three kilos of cocoa each year. Now, with the new methods we are harvesting 10 kilos from the same plot of land.”
Prior to the training sessions, Tanriani was doing her best to manage her cocoa farm. But she was struggling with cocoa pods spoiling due to pests and diseases. Today, she’s proud of the way her harvest has improved, and for her role leading others in her community.
“One nursery was built right behind my house. As a lead farmer, I am the one responsible for it and for training my students on how to start the plants and how to grant… one day, we hope to turn this into a profitable nursery where our co-operative can make an income for our group.”
This story was originally published in the 2024 Spring edition of Breaking Bread.
