Whittaker’s Cocoa Improvement Programme, which has rejuvenated the cocoa export industry in Samoa, has been renewed. The Programme which started in 2014, and expanded in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) in 2017, is helping to turn around Samoa’s cocoa export industry with yields at the farms participating in it doubling since its inception.
In 2014, average cocoa yields at the participating farms in Samoa were at 150kg, and as a result of the Programme, are now at 300kg per hectare of dried cocoa bean, with exports doubling from 15 tonnes to 30 tonnes per year, and 400 growers applying new growing and post-harvest techniques on their farms.
Matt Whittaker says Whittaker’s sourced cocoa beans from Samoa decades ago when its cocoa export industry was thriving.
“At Whittaker’s, we’re focused on using high quality, locally sourced ingredients, which led naturally back to Samoa where the cocoa beans have a distinctive flavour and where the proximity means we can have a direct relationship with cocoa farmers. So we seized the opportunity to set up the Whittaker’s Cocoa Improvement Programme five years ago, and are pleased to be extending our commitment to it,” says Matt.
Cocoa farming has been a long-standing tradition in Samoa with commercial farming reaching its peak in the 1960s, but by the early 2000s it had dwindled to subsistence levels.
Under Whittaker’s Cocoa Improvement Programme, the local partner Samoan cocoa supplier Savai’i Koko is provided with critical resources including moisture meters, pruning equipment, and fermentation boxes. With these resources, Savai’i Koko supports other local cocoa farmers who supply cocoa beans to Whittaker’s. Through its nursery, the Programme supplies cocoa tree seedlings – with over 10,000 planted in the first year – and provides farmer training in sustainable horticultural practices to prevent risk of deforestation or environmental damage. The Programme also includes an initiative to recycle the Samoan cocoa bean sacks.
Tuipai Saleimoa Vaa’i (Sale), Managing Director of Savai’i Koko, says that the key to the success of this Programme has been the direct commercial relationship established with Whittaker’s at the outset, which has provided the platform for the ongoing commitment of all parties to making the Programme a success.
“The partnership has enabled us to do more social impact work and has raised awareness and enthusiasm among farmers now they can earn money from cocoa. Providing a consistent and steady income to farmers benefits our rural communities and makes an important contribution to Samoa’s economy through export growth. We’re pleased to continue to be a part of the Programme, based on the results achieved to date,” says Sale.
The results were immediate with the first export of a full container of cocoa beans in over a decade achieved by 2015. Since then the volumes have continued to increase year-on-year, and are expected to grow a further 60% over the next three years with the support of Whittaker’s Cocoa Improvement Programme.
Matt says helping rebuild Samoa’s tradition of cocoa farming and restoring Savai’i Koko’s existing cocoa plantation, run by the Vaa’i family, has been rewarding in number of ways.
“Like us, the Vaai’s are a fourth generation family-run business. It’s been easy to create meaningful bonds with the family, and my visits to the plantation have always been a memorable and warm experience. They’re also just as committed as we are to quality and sustainability, alongside improving yields.
“As such, our ongoing relationship with Savai’i Koko is an important part of Whittaker’s wider sustainability programme, which includes a range of other initiatives from reducing our factory’s carbon footprint and using locally sourced ingredients wherever possible, to becoming signatories to the World Cocoa Foundation’s Cocoa & Forests Initiative (CFI) last year.
“We’re pleased to be able to continue to work with our partners in Samoa to build a reliable supply of high quality cocoa beans. Their Trinitario cocoa beans create a distinctive full-flavour, earthy and sweet chocolate, which can be sampled in Whittaker’s Artisan Collection Samoan 64% Cacao block,” says Matt.
