Making best practices come alive and stay alive is one of the enduring challenges for any development project. DAI’s Agribusiness Market and Support Activity (AMARTA) has risen to that challenge by hitting on a message and a readily shared medium that will give its technical assistance to Indonesia’s cocoa farmers resonance for years to come.

Mr. Atto is one of many thousands of smallholder cocoa farmers in Indonesia—the world’s third-largest cocoa producer—who have used four AMARTA-funded training films to increase productivity, improve quality, and earn access to better markets, thereby increasing their income.

Atto, a 39-year-old from West Sulawesi, says the video training will make him more competitive in the region’s cocoa supply chain. “The techniques in the film are simple and easy to apply in my garden,” he said, “particularly the best cocoa cultivation practices and side grafting topics.”

Launched in November 2007, the films—which come in a CD format—were produced by local company Jungle Run Productions. A year after their debut, more than 850 CDs have been requested by and provided to government personnel to aid in their training programs. In total, more than 9,000 CDs have been distributed to national, regional, and local government entities, as well as directly to smallholder farmers.

The films address practical aspects of successful cocoa growing, helping farmers like Mr. Atto, of the Tappang Indah Farmers’ Group in Polewali Mandar District, and Mr. Sulaeman, of the Padakita Farmers’ Group, to increase yields, reduce pests and disease, and provide a more consistent, export-quality product.

“Now we can recognize different cocoa diseases and know how to address them, especially for black pod and trunk kanker,” Sulaeman said.

The videos support the U.S. Agency for International Development-funded project’s broader efforts to strengthen Indonesia’s underperforming cocoa industry—efforts that include: 

• Facilitating a relationship with international commodities trader PT Olam Indonesia, which is purchasing export-quality cocoa from small farmers and paying a price incentive for improved quality;
• Arranging cocoa fermenting in Bali through Big Tree Farms, a top-quality processor that will help smallholders access high-value markets;
• Training trainers from the local department of agriculture and other extension personnel to enhance their knowledge of modern cocoa production practices; and
• Establishing a Regional Agribusiness Competitive Alliance in Bali to coordinate cocoa value-chain participants such as input suppliers, banks, food safety specialists, and importers.

Atto is one of 11,650 farmers in AMARTA’s Sulawesi Kakao Alliance to have seen the video. The CDs are also being used for SustaIndonesia Kakao Alliance training in Bali, where 1,000 cocoa farmers in Tabanan District have viewed the four films.