Impact Assessment: Support for Cocoa Sectors in Solomon Islands and Vanuatu
Cocoa is an important source of income for farming families across Melanesia, supporting the livelihoods of 8,500 households in Vanuatu and 24,0001 households in Solomon Islands.
Melanesia has a reputation for low quality cocoa due to smoke taint and small bean size. It is also a very small producer in global terms. Despite these limitations, properly cured cocoa from Melanesia is known for its fine flavours and is of interest to makers of premium chocolates, a consequence of both the environment in which it is grown (soil and climate) and the processing methods used.
The Pacific Horticultural and Agricultural Market Access (PHAMA) program has been supporting the cocoa sectors in Solomon Islands and Vanuatu since 2012.PHAMA’s aim was to establish or increase premium cocoa markets, creating a price premium for improved quality cocoa and improving returns for cocoa business and growers. Gains were also anticipated in conventional markets by increasing price competition and better positioning exporters to negotiate more favorable terms of trade.
The report considers PHAMA/PHAMA Plus impacts in Solomon Islands and Vanuatu only, where support to the cocoa sector has been provided since 2012.
