Haiti’s cocoa growers demand recognition
The developing cocoa industry is earning better incomes for farmers
Although small in the face of South America’s giants, Haiti is slowly developing its cocoa industry, earning better incomes for thousands of farmers and refuting the stereotype that culinary art is the preserve of wealthy countries. aiti’s annual production of 5,000 tonnes of cocoa pales in comparison to the 70,000 tonnes produced per year by neighbouring Dominican Republic, but the sector’s development is recent in the island nation.
Feccano, a federation of cocoa cooperatives in northern Haiti, became the first group to organize exchanges in 2001 by prioritising farmers’ profits. “Before, there was the systematic destruction of cocoa trees because the market price wasn’t interesting for farmers who preferred very short-cycle crops,” said Guito Gilot, Feccano’s commercial director.
The cooperative now works with more than 4,000 farmers in northern Haiti. By fermenting its members’ beans before export, Feccano has been able to target the market for fine and aromatic cocoa. “Feccano’s customers pay for quality: they don’t have the New York Stock Exchange as a reference,” said Gilot.
Smelling potential, Haiti’s private sector finally began investing in the cocoa industry, which until then had been supported solely by non-governmental organisations and humanitarian efforts. By setting up its fermentation setter in 2014 in Acul-du-Nord, 15 kilometers (nine miles) from Haiti’s second city Cap-Haitien, the company Produit des iles (PISA) entered the market. But the logistical challenges are many. “The producers we work with farm less than a hectare, often divided into several plots whereas, in Latin America, a small producer already owns four or five hectares,” explained Aline Etlicher, who developed the industry at PISA.
“We buy fresh cocoa, the same day as the harvest so the farmer no longer has the problems of drying and storing that they would have if they sold it to an intermediary,” said the French agronomist.
