DEVELOPMENT INWOLEU- PILLAR OFSUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC COCOA UNDERSHADE: © lemonde.fr of Africa. It is of critical importance to support populations living in its periphery its towards asustainableeconomic developmentin andtofightagainstdeforestation. living populations support to importance lung” critical theof “green is as It Africa. of considered biodiversity of reservoir significant a landscape, In northern , the8000-km² Minkébé NationalPark ispartof theTRIDOM economic value. economic added an having species trees shade and cocoa associating deforestation» agroforestry, a«zero implementing mers in to support is far project of the objective The cultivation. coa conducive toparticularly co is region this in climate The - -

GABON Full cost :100,000euros A projectimplementedby: Start :march2018 Duration : 3years And supportedby: Producers have no technical support, and Shade-grown cocoa is recognized for the Stabilization and Equalization Fund its superior quality, which will allow Main achievements in 2019 (CAISTAB), which collects cocoa on credit, producers to access a reliable and profitable Economic development lags far behind - up to 7 months - before market. paying its debt to producers... • 1 socio-economic study was The specific objectives of the project are conducted in June 2019 to assess Minkébé Cocoa Many of them have abandoned cocoa the following: the strengths and weaknesses of National Park cultivation in the province, but some • Improve productivity by rehabilitating the plantations and planters iden- persevere despite the difficulties tified in the 4 villages of the pro- 100 ha of old plantations and creating encountered. ject; The site and its biodiversity 4 hectares of new agroforestry On the other hand, unbridled logging by plantations associated with timber • At the end of June 2019, a trai- In northern Gabon, the -Ntem large operators causes the destruction of and non-timber forest products. ning workshop for the Brainforest province has seen its working population ecosystems, directly impacting people teams, the Agricultural Sector depleted due to rural exodus. who are almost never consulted and do • Promote profitable and quality of Minvoul, and some producers not benefit from economic spinoffs. production through the provision of was facilitated by the experts of In this territory covered by equatorial equipment and plant material and the Tropical Forest and Rural Deve- forest is located the Minkébé National Committed partners capacity building of 50 producers on lopment. 24 people including 9 Park; a vast protected area of 8,000 km² best agricultural practices. women were trained in rehabili- of forest punctuated by isolated hills and Created in 1998, the NGO Brainforest is a tation techniques of former cocoa marshy glades. major player in the Gabonese civil society • Structure producers by setting up lands; working on forest and environment issues. 2 cooperatives and train them on The Minkébé Park forms with the Odzala- management and marketing. • 16 batches of cocoa agricultural Kokoua National Park in the Republic Brainforest’s «On Mange Local» equipments and inputs were dis- of Congo and the Dja Wildlife Reserve department’s mission is to preserve food • Analyze non-timber forest products tributed; in Cameroon, the TRIDOM landscape security by promoting local agriculture available in the park and its periphery, (TRInationale of Dja, Odzala and based on healthy and environmentally- which can be processed into oil or • 18 farmers (13 men and 5 women) took part in a technical training on Minkébé), which is recognized as key friendly production. butter and which have significant for the conservation of the Congo Basin’s outlets on local and international the rehabilitation of former cocoa plantations, using a participatory dense forests. The NGO Brainforest has an in-depth markets. knowledge of the target area and its «field-school-farmer» method; Major Issues communities, with which they have • 1 organizational audit of the cocoa already worked for several years. producers’ association of Nylon- Agriculture is the main activity in the ville North Canton Minvoul Ga- Woleu-Ntem province. The development The project and the prospects for bon was conducted; of cocoa cultivation in the 1970s allowed change many families to assert themselves • Two motorcycle trucks were pro- socially and economically. Today, cocoa To fight against deforestation and vided to the farmers to collect and cultivation in the region is stagnating or poverty, the project aims at improving sell their cocoa production; even in decline. the productivity of cocoa farms and encouraging agroforestry for a high • Advocacy actions were imple- mented to improve the cocoa pro- New government policies support the quality and sustainable cacao production curement system in Gabon. exploitation of natural resources such as without deforestation. timber, neglecting agriculture.