TRINITARIO & FORASTERO
Cocoa cultivation in West Papua was introduced in the 1950s.
Originally, the planting material consisted of Java-type Trinitario, to which were added descendants of West African Amelonado and Forastero introduced from Sulawesi. Later, Trinitario seeds from Keravat were introduced from Papua New Guinea.
A LITTLE HISTORY
In 1979, the British Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC) established a 4,064-hectare concession in Ransiki, in the northwest of the province.
At its peak, the plantation covered some 1,785 hectares and produced over 2,000 tonnes of dried cocoa.
However, following a combination of changes in ownership and a lack of new investment, the plantation had to be scaled back considerably.
With the help of local stakeholders, the Ebier Suth ('Unity to Stand Up') Cokran cooperative was established in 2017 and has rehabilitated almost 300 hectares of the original plantation, creating much-needed jobs for the community.
A BIODIVERSITY EDEN
The team plans to rehabilitate around 1,000 hectares of the old plantation over the next 3 to 5 years.
In addition, the Governor laid the foundation stone for a new small-scale chocolate factory on the plantation grounds, which will produce chocolate for the local Indonesian market.
With this, the team hopes to create employment opportunities for the younger generation and reinforce the image of cocoa as a local food crop.
An Eden in its own right, since their arrival in the 1800s, European researchers have recorded 110 species of mammal, 350 species of butterfly and 320 species of bird in this region.
The region enjoys an equatorial climate, with evenly distributed rainfall throughout the year, strong sunshine and no strong winds. The trade winds do, however, provide a breeze between July and September.
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