Belvas’ DIRECT program:
While we were developing the DIRECT program, the exchanges between ECSP community and the cooperative, our team has been really impressed. First of all, by the technical knowledges of the company management and the trainers. Secondly, by their understanding of the real situation of the planters. Finally, by the organization and the structure of the cooperative.
The program was set up in a peer-to-peer relationship underlying the whole process.
Four goals have been defined (in the DIRECT program, the bonuses are expressed in US dollars per tonne of cocoa):
2. Plantations diversification:
The incomes of the cocoa producers in Ivory Coast come from 75% of the cocoa cultivation. Thereby, they are highly dependent on that crop and highly vulnerable to bad crops or market fluctuations.
Our program helps planters identifying and using alternative crops to limit their financial dependence on cocoa.
The alternative crops will be partly food, to ensure food security, and partly fruit trees that have the advantage of offering shadows to cocoa trees. For example: bananas, mangoes, long pepper…
The cooperative lists each year the cocoa dependency of each planter.
Bonus: 100$ per farmer when he can demonstrate a 5% reduction in cocoa dependence.
