Indonesia will spend as much as 1.6 trillion rupiah ($175 million) this year on revitalising cocoa plantations and tackling the spread of pests and diseases which threaten output, an agriculture official said on Tuesday. Indonesia, the world's third-largest cocoa producer, has been struggling to increase its output as ageing cocoa trees have made the crop vulnerable to pest attacks.
The country's vast network of smallholders has also meant that it is more difficult to increase output as farmers often neglect their plants when cocoa prices are low or falling. Ahmad Mangga Barani, director general of plantation crops at the Agriculture Ministry, said that the funds would be used for crop maintenance, and to cover the costs of fertiliser and replanting in 200,000 hectares of cocoa plantations.
"Farmers will get free cocoa seeds that can resist pest and disease attacks," Mangga Barani said. Mangga Barani said the programme would help Indonesia in its fight against a deadly fungal disease, Vascular-streak dieback (VSD) and against the cocoa pod borer, which eats cocoa beans.
About 500,000 hectares of cocoa plantations have been affected by these pests and diseases, but the areas affected could be reduced by 56 percent with the introduction of pest- and disease-resistant seeds, he said. Cocoa prices have surged to the highest level in about 20 years on concerns about crop size and quality in top grower Ivory Coast and in Indonesia.