CAMEROON'S COCOA SECTOR: ECONOMIC AND LABOR ISSUES

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 YAOUNDE 000837

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: CM ELAB ECON EAGR PHUM
SUBJECT: CAMEROON'S COCOA SECTOR: ECONOMIC AND LABOR ISSUES


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Summary
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1. (U) PolOff recently met with Bill Guyton, president of
the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) and separately with
representatives from the USDA's Agricultural Research Service
(ARS). The USDA's focus is on disease prevention in the
cocoa sector, while WCF addresses primarily world market
development. Cameroon may be vulnerable to threats from
disease and food terrorism, threats that its agricultural
research institute (IRAD) is seeking to counter. While
Cameroon is a major cocoa producer, its cocoa is not a
sufficiently high quality to compete effectively on the world
market, and farmers do not earn the same rate of return as
farmers in other countries. Cocoa cultivation in Cameroon is
mainly carried out by small shareholders, who have developed
a mixed-cropping system to guard against market fluctuations.
Although the WCF has not found evidence of child
trafficking, there are farm safety issues that affect
children. WCF also promotes literacy and numeracy among
cocoa farmers. End summary.

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Recent U.S. Visitors to Cameroon
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2. (U) The USDA team visited Cameroon's agricultural
research institute (French acronym, IRAD),which is
associated with the worldwide CIRAD program, a reflection of
France's historical ties in Cameroon; it also has some past
ties with Russia. The bulk of the program's activities are
in Africa.


3. (U) The USDA team included Eileen Herrera, USFDA-ARS;
Juan C. Motomayor, Masterfoods USA; Prakash K. Hebbar,
USDA-ARS; Eric Rosenquist, National Program Leader, Tropical
Commodities, USDA-ARS; and a French representative from the
ARS facility in Montpelier.


4. (U) Poloff met separately with Bill Guyton, president of
the WCF. The WCF works with the USDA-ARS on training and
outreach programs, doing long-term investment in cocoa
research, pest management, and mapping the cocoa genome.

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Cocoa Research in Cameroon
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5. (U) The main focus of the cocoa research carried out is
disease resistance, although researchers are also looking for
alternatives to cacao growing. The WCF funds regional
programs for crop research on fungal diseases that take one
third of the crop each year (and one half of the Latin
American crop). There is pressure to develop disease
resistance to witch's broom and frosty pod, fungal diseases
that can easily be spread through contact with workers'
clothing. These blights can destroy not just crops, but
whole trees. Although these maladies are not currently
present in African countries, Africa is potentially
vulnerable, and researchers want to prepare Africa for the
expected plague. These diseases would be devastating if they
reached West Africa, according to the IRAD team.


6. (U) There is some concern about food terrorism, i.e.,
deliberate attempts to destroy crops. According to Herrera,
there have been rumors, later proved untrue, about people
trying to carry witch's broom to Cote d'Ivoire; however,
smugglers have been caught carrying frosty pod in Mexico, she
said.


7. (U) The research in Cameroon includes genetic research to
tag the cacao genes, but researchers are not creating
genetically modified (GMO) products because the high-end
chocolate consumer is leery of GMO products. Instead,
researchers are working on accelerated breeding methods using
traditional techniques. Much of the research performed in
the cocoa industry is country-specific, with a focus on
developing fine chocolates in response to market demand.


8. (U) Pierre Tondje, a Cameroonian scientist collaborating

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with Prakash Hebbar, is currently working on black pod, which
is the problem in Cameroon. Their work is supported by USDA,
USAID and Masterfoods,


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U.S. Interest
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9. (U) Although the U.S. is not a cocoa producer, it does
have a major interest in cocoa (reflected in Congressional
acts),because of the large number of U.S. products used in
chocolate production, and because the U.S. is also a major
consumer, Herrera said. According to WCF, most U.S. products
are obtained from Cote d'Ivoire; Ghana markets to the
European Union.

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Economic Factors Affecting Cocoa in Cameroon
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10. (U) Though not the region of origin, Africa is the
largest producer of cocoa in the world. African cocoa is not
high-quality, however, because the emphasis is on higher
production, not higher quality. Cameroonian farmers lack
incentives to grow high-quality cocoa because low- and
high-quality beans are bought at the same price. The buyers
are able to extract the desired quality from the mix of beans
they purchase.


11. (U) The degradation of the quality of Cameroonian cocoa
is attributed to economic liberalization policies aimed at
eliminating price controls. In 1985, approximately 70
percent of Cameroon's exported cocoa was classified as high
quality; that percentage has since declined to less than 10
percent.


12. (U) Cocoa cultivation in Cameroon is mainly carried out
by small shareholders, not plantation growers. As a result,
Cameroon is the best example of the mixed-cropping system,
which was developed by the Cameroonian farmers themselves,
who were concerned about growing cash crops that were
vulnerable to market fluctuations. The farmers therefore
prefer to grow cocoa along with food crops, which can be
eaten should the market for cocoa drop.


13. (U) According to WCF's Bill Guyton, what producers are
looking for now good is quality. Cameroon is not currently
"at the top of the list." Companies are looking to South
America, primarily Ecuador, which produces 90,000 tons of
cocoa per year. Demand has been rising, and the industry
"needs another Ecuador each year" (i.e., 90,000 tons of
cocoa) to satisfy it. Guyton said that Cameroon would
benefit at this time from a national policy addressing
quality standards in order to attract buyers looking for
high-quality cocoa.


14. (U) Guyton said that West African farmers are farther
removed from the marketing process than are farmers
elsewhere. WCF is promoting co-operatives to help remedy
that problem. Currently, West African farmers receive only
35 percent of the market price, compared to Indonesia, where
they obtain 80-90 percent of the price.

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Child Labor Issues
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15. (U) WCF addresses education and child labor issues in
the cocoa industry as well. It is developing programs
inGhana and Cote d'Ivoire to promote literacy and numeracy
among the next generation of cocoa farmers, according to
Guyton, primarily through STCP (Sustainable Tree Crop
Program) Farmer Field Schools. WCF is also sensitive to
child labor issues, which Guyton said are often difficult to
define; the WCF uses ILO Convention 182 as a guide. Although
the WCF claims it has not found evidence of child trafficking
in the cocoa sector, Guyton said there are farm safety issues
that affect children, such as pesticide use and the dangers
posted by the use of machetes and the carrying of heavy
loads. (Note: According to the 2006 Human Rights Report,

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there were estimates of up to 8,000 underaged (17 and under)
children working in the cocoa industry, most of whom were
likely working alongside their parents or with their parents'
consent and not/not trafficked into the sector.) Current
efforts at a certification process to address child labor
issues, according to Guyton, focus on Ghana and Cote
d'Ivoire, not Cameroon.
MARQUARDT