Crop Protection

Why crop protection is important

Educating farmers about crop protection – the use of products and agricultural techniques to protect against pests and disease – and giving them access to these products is crucial for building their economic resilience. Our experience has shown that, out of all the inputs farmers can use, crop protection has the highest return on investment. Young cocoa trees are particularly vulnerable to pests and disease, so effective crop protection is a vital step that must be addressed as part of our sequential approach before new cocoa seedlings are supplied to farmers and planted.

Our approach

Our focus has been on giving farmers access to quality insecticides and fungicides and providing the training they need to ensure their safe and efficient use. Developing effective delivery mechanisms of quality products from manufacturer to cooperatives and farmers is key.

We launched the Yiri+ program in partnership with Syngenta in Côte d’Ivoire in 2014 to give farmers access to better crop protection products and provide hands-on training on how to use crop protection products more effectively. Farmers benefit from competitive prices and flexible credit so they can afford to invest in products, access to high-quality equipment and storage facilities, practical in-the-field training and a training toolkit for ongoing reference. Demonstration plots show an average 40% increase in yields when crop protection is applied effectively.

In Ghana, we engage manufacturers and connect them with farmers through Input fairs that provide access to good quality and approved insecticides and fungicides.

2016 highlights

60,760 farmers now employing pest and disease management in Côte d’Ivoire

49% increase in yields achieved by farmers in Côte d'Ivoire applying fertilizer and crop protection correctly. This translates into a 22% increase in cocoa farmers’ net household income

US$1,037,526 total cost for crop protection ordered via our CCP

Looking ahead

• 100% of farmers to use crop protection
• 10% increase of the areas treated with crop protection