How Sulawesi cocoa smallholders achieve 2000 kg per hectare: why two-day fermented beans?

Far from the once believed 500 to 1000 kg/ha, yields achieved by Sulawesi smallholders prove to, be of a much higher averge and wider range. In areas with sandy soils and poor rainfall pattern, yields of mature cocoa intercropped with coconuts vary from 250 to 1000 kg/ha. However, at least along the Bone Golfe cocoa belt, the average yield of monocrop is around 2000-2500 kg/ha in the plain and at 1000-1500 kg/ha in the foothills. Yields achieved on more recent fanns in the hills are yet to be evaluated. Most cocoa farms are monocrops or 'light' cocoa-under-coconuts systems with usually less than 80 coconuts pet hectare. In some cases, cocoa trees intercropped with various fruit trees and cloves can be found. The yield analysis is partially based on a relatively small sample of 65 cocoa farms located in the area of Palopo on the Bone Golfe coast. Although it bas some obvious limits in terms of statistics, the method enables a precious familiarity with the data. The weekly followup of these 65 farms leads to a clear appraisal of yield factors: plain/hill dualism, monocrop/intercropping qriteria, type of soil, NPK fertilisers of whieh application varies from 0 to 1000 kg/ha, usually high quality and frequency of pruning and last but not the least, Torest rent'. In other words, Sulawesi high yields can be explained by the quality of ecological environment (alluvial soils, rainfall pattern, hardly consumed 'forest rent'), historical and social background of innovative Bugis smallholders and economic environment (high producer prices relative to input prices). The latter is partially related to favourable economic policies (themselves partially related to the oil rent) and free competition among exporters and middlemen. This favourable ecological and free-market environment helps also to understand why smallholders mostly produce two-day fermented beans. Basically, this is due to North-American market demand but can be also partially explained by middlemen competition and climatic conditions. In conclusion, with regard to the high precocity of Sulawesi cocoa trees, pod borer threat and the 'forest rent' theory, the sustainability of 2000 kg/ha yields in the next century is discussed.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Ruf, François, Jamaluddin, Yoddang
Format:	conference_item biblioteca
Language:	eng
Published:	Cocoa Producers' Alliance
Subjects:	E16 - Économie de la production, Theobroma cacao, rendement, facteur de rendement, fève de cacao, fermentation, petite exploitation agricole, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_7713, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_8488, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_16091, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_1711, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_2855, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_7113, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_7508, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_3840,
Online Access:	http://agritrop.cirad.fr/10934/ http://agritrop.cirad.fr/10934/7/ID10934.pdf
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