ADRA’S SOUL COCOA PROJECT SHARES INFORMATION TO BURNSCREEK STUDENTS

THE Form Four Agriculture students at Burnscreek Adventist High School (BAHS) in East Honiara has gained important insights into Cocoa Industry in Solomon Islands thanks to an awareness session conducted by the Soul Cocoa Livelihood Project of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) Solomon Islands.

The event took place in the school hall on Wednesday, March 13, 2023.

Topics shared during the awareness session are  ,Cocoa Fermentation ,Cocoa History in SI ,Cocoa Impacts to SI Economy ,General Husbandry of Cocoa ,Emphasis on integrated pest and disease management (IPDM) Practices of Cocoa and Post-Harvest of Cocoa including Fermentation and Cocoa Drying.

The awareness was organized by the Agriculture Department of Burnscreek Adventist High School for over 30 Form 4 agriculture students participated during the awareness.

Patrick Mesia, Project Manager of the Soul Cocoa Livelihood Project, and Reidly Harold, Project Officer, facilitated the awareness program.

Mr Mesia expressed his happiness in sharing cocoa-related information for students who wanted to pursue agricultural studies.

“I am pleased to provide insights into cocoa fermentation and marketing from our project to support your studies and potential careers in agriculture’’

“Sharing this information is beneficial to students, and we welcome invitations from other schools who may interested in cocoa awareness session for their agriculture classes,’’ Mr Mesia said.

Agriculture Teacher at Burnscreek Adventist High School, Serah Newter, expressed her students’ appreciation to ADRA Soul Cocoa Livelihood Project for accepting their invitation.

 “On behalf of our students, I extend our gratitude to ADRA Soul Cocoa Livelihood Project for sharing valuable information about cocoa fermentation and Cocoa General Information,”

 “Thanks to this session, our students are now equipped with knowledge about cocoa fermentation and other important cocoa information that would  enabling them to answer related questions in the upcoming agriculture national exam this year ,’’Ms Newter said.

The Soul Cocoa Livelihood Project aims to enhance cocoa farmers’ income and resilience in target communities by addressing barriers and challenges affecting cocoa production.

Through initiatives such as radical pruning, tree thinning, and soil health improvement, the project seeks to increase yield and production from established cocoa trees.

Soul Cocoa Livelihood Project focuses on teaching propagation techniques, genetic variations, and disease and pest management to farmers, thereby enhancing their cocoa farming practices.