A SUCCESS STORY OF A COCOA FARMER

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While some people are still struggling to clear land and establish new cocoa plantations Barnabas Manetavua from Vatilau Village in Northeast Guadalcanal’s, Paripao Ward is now enjoying the fruits of his labor, selling his sun dried  cocoa beans  every week and earning significant income from his cocoa project.

“I earn $1500 to $3500 every week selling 50kg to 40kg of my sun-dried cocoa beans to local buyers in Honiara, with prices now reaching $52 to $55 per per kilo,”Manetavua told ADRA Media in an exclusive interview recently.

Manetavua is married with seven children and numerous grandchildren, owns a 4-hectare of cocoa plantation comprising four thousand Amelando and Trinitario varieties of cocoa trees.

He is a local cocoa farmer involved in cocoa production for many years. He participated in numerous training sessions from different sectors including CEMA and was awarded a certificate from CEMA for his cocoa IPDM and production.

Manetavua joined the ADRA Soul Cocoa Plus Project through a six-month livelihood program from the Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Project in his village in 2022. During that year, the ADRA Soul Cocoa Plus Project facilitated a three-day cocoa training workshop at Inus in Northeast Guadalcanal’s, Paripao Ward for the surrounding communities, namely Inus, Vatilau, Dadae, Magia, and Capicha. After completing the training, ADRA, through the Soul Cocoa Plus Project, supported each farmer who attended the training with cocoa tools pruning sectors to kick start their cocoa projects. Manetavua was one of the recipients of this tools’ assistance, which helped him revive his passion for planting new cocoa trees.

With assistance from the DRR project, ADRA provided farmers, including Manetavua, with tools for IPDM and conducted frequent follow-up visits to monitor their progress, offer additional information, and provide advice. After the initial program ended, Barnabas remained dedicated to his work. The project continued to support him, inviting him to attend several workshop trainings organized by ADRA to further enhance his cocoa production skills.

The easygoing 67-year-old father told ADRA Media that he was thankful for ADRA’s help with training and continued support for his cocoa plantation.”

 “I am a cocoa farmer and have been a businessman for many years. I owned some assets when I was young, but now that I am older, I focus more on planting cocoa,”

“When I was younger, I had a job, but the money I earned fortnightly was very small. So, I decided to return home and start planting cocoa,” Manetavua explained.

On Thursday, July 12, Manetavua and Julian Kuri from North Guadalcanal, Gaobata Ward, received materials to improve their cocoa sun dryers from ADRA Cocoa Livelihood Project. Kuri received 12 pieces of clear polycarbonate roofing materials, while Mr. Manetavua received two bags of cement, one roll of green shade netting, two Sato pan toilets, and previously, clear plastic for his cocoa solar dryer. Mr. Manetavua has already built his cocoa solar dryer shed, which will be completed next week.

Manetavua credits Seventh-day Adventist Pastor Wilfred Billy from Inus Village for introducing him to cocoa.

“I didn’t know anything about cocoa until Pastor Wilfred Billy from Inus Village in our area, who had served as a missionary in PNG, introduced it to me,”

“That’s how my interest in cocoa began. I received training from the Ministry of Agriculture’s extension office many years ago, and three years ago, ADRA came to my village and conducted additional cocoa training.”

“Many of our villagers attended ADRA’s training, but I was the only one who took an interest in cocoa and began planting it right after the training,” an excited Manetavua recounted.

“Today, I continue my work despite getting older. None of my children help me with the cocoa farm, especially with clearing the plantation and sun drying the cocoa. I handle everything myself since my children have their own interests,” he noted.

“Since ADRA came here, I’ve trained with them and gained valuable knowledge. This training has enabled me to produce quality sun-dried cocoa beans, which I enjoy selling to local buyers. Soon, ADRA will buy from my farm again, and I am committed to working with them because they taught me how to produce high-quality sun-dried beans,” Mr. Manetavua cheerfully said.

Manetavua joined EZI PEI service for savings to help him save his money every time he received earning from his cocoa money.

The Soul Cocoa plus Project of ADRA Solomon Islands is currently working with four communities in Guadalcanal namely; Sali, Geza, New Tenabuti and Ghombua. But with this current 5 years expansion program, ADRA will work with other communities like Vatilau and others within Guadalcanal who may interested to work with ADRA under its new livelihood project that will be officially announced soon.

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