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26th August 2010
St. Lucia’s Cocoa Industry on the Rebound

Make no mistake about it…the cocoa industry in St. Lucia is alive and well.
This is due in large measure to the Cocoa Rehabilitation and Expansion Project which is being executed under the Banana Commercialization and Agricultural Diversification Programme (BCAD) by the Banana Industry Trust and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA). The project is being funded by the European Union Special Framework of Assistance SFA 2005.
One component of the Cocoa Rehabilitation and Expansion Project is the establishment of a Germ Plasm Bank at Barthe in Soufriere. Consultant for the Germ Plasm Bank is Calixtus George. He says his task was to plant one acre of different varieties of cocoa which he has done, using 8 ICS clones. ICS stands for Imperial College Selection developed in Trinidad. Originally, the Germ Plasm Bank was earmarked for Union Agricultural Station. George said the old bank at Union was not up to standard and so the decision was taken to establish the new one at Barthe where there is room for expansion as well.
George says the eight ICS varieties are of outstanding characteristics with a maximum of 452 cocoa trees per acre with protective components like shade trees and wind breaks. Each plot has its own variety of ICS clone, with proper labeling of the plots.
He says the objective is that in the long run, farmers can come to the Bank (site) for cuttings for grafting and propagation material to establish or expand their cocoa farms.
 
 
In essence, George says the Germ Plasm Bank will help improve the cocoa industry on the island by ensuring that farmers have proper selection of planting materials of the highest quality on a timely basis and at affordable costs. He says the nursery at Barthe currently offers only four ICS varieties to farmers; the Germ Plasm Bank will double the ICS clones available to farmers. He expects the Bank will begin to be utilized within 3 – 4 years. George says the ICS clones are superior in seed quality, flavour, size, weight and tolerance to disease.
George sees the establishment of the Germ Plasm Bank in Barthe as an opportunity for farmers to create opportunities for increased production and generate more income from cocoa.”
He said: “Right now, we’re growing cocoa but we don’t know what we’re growing. Now farmers have the opportunity to select the varieties they want to grow.”
George says this will facilitate better targeting and enable farmers to break into niche markets based on specific varieties which a buyer may want. He acknowledges that given the size of the island, quantity is always a challenge, which is why niche marketing is the way to go. He believes that with the right selection of varieties, expanding the industry and applying the proper agronomic practices “we can get there.”
He says “the competition is great but we can challenge that by producing good quality cocoa.”

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