Cargill drives sustainable cocoa production in Vietnam

Cargill presented the first Cocoa Technology Transfer Center in Ba Ria Vung Tau, Vietnam, to the Xa Bang Cocoa Co-op and the Department of Agriculture and Rural development of Ba Ria Vung Tau province. The Center, supported by Cargill, its employees, dealers and suppliers, is the first center to serve as a cocoa training campus for around 2,000 farmers in Ba Ria Vung Tau, Dong Nai and Binh Thuan provinces. The Center has one training room with capacity for up to 200 people, an office, a cocoa post-harvest processing unit and a 1.7-ha demonstration cocoa farm. The Center, together with other technical training programs will help farmers improve yields by 30 per cent to 50 per cent in three years. Cocoa is a new crop in Vietnam currently grown by about 25,000 farmers in central highlands, Mekong delta and southeast provinces. As a new crop, many farmers still lack the knowledge, skills and expertise to achieve higher yields.