Testimonial from Adama PARE, one of our growers

Hello,

my name is Adama Pare. I’m 39 and I live in Parc Community in Ivory Coast.

I didn’t have the opportunity to go to school when I was young. I stayed with my parents to help them work the land. So, I wasn’t able to study.

My family

I have 4 children; 3 daughters and a son. They are 10, 7, 5, and 2 years old.

The older two go to school. The eldest is in the 2^nd year elementary level (CE2) and the second eldest is in the 1^st year elementary level (CE1). The others are still too young to walk all the way to school which is several kilometres from home.

Currently, given the cost of living, I can’t be sure that my production is sufficient to provide for my family.

Thanks to the Cocoa Act 4, with the fair remuneration that we receive and the good agricultural practices that we are taught, my work is enhanced along with my production and therefore my income will quickly increase.

I do not particularly wish for my children to take over my plantation in the future. Unlike me, I would like them to have a good education. I want them to go to school to increase their knowledge and be able to take on the world of the future.

You never know what life holds for you, but if one of them ends up working land, that will be their own choice and never an obligation.

Plantation en Côte d'Ivoire de Pare Adama, un des planteurs de Dolfin

Palmier dans la plantation de Pare Adama en Côte d'Ivoire

My plantation

My plantation has an area of 1.5 ha. It is 30 years old now.

Previously, the yield on my field was around 500 kg/ha. Currently, with all the diseases that we have recorded, the yield is lower. My production/harvest is currently between 350 and 400 kg/ha.

Cabosse sur un cacaoyer provenant de la plantation de Pare Adama en Côte d'Ivoire

I inherited my plantation from my father. Since his death in 2008, I have been cultivating the field. That’s now 14 years.

With my wife, we leave at 07:00/08:00 in the morning and only return at around 17:00, that’s 9-10 hours of work per day.

Collaborateurs ouvrants des cabosses provenant de la plantation de Pare Adama

I’m really delighted to be part of the Cocoa Act 4 programme.

Before this, shady buyers would come and take our cocoa without paying or would pay 2 or 3 weeks later at very low prices.

I truly began to believe in the project when we met the cooperative and a team from Dolfin.

Now, all the producers in Parc Community have great things to say about the Cocoa Act 4 programme and all the other communities that are around the Parc community have begun to respect us.

In 2022, we received the bonus, one of my children benefited from a school kit and a drinking water pump was installed in Parc Community.