Farm News 1
Our vanilla and cacao farm is now in its second year of operation, and the crops are growing rapidly, especially during this year’s rainy season from September to November, when there was plenty of rain.
We would like to introduce cacao and its cultivation.
Cacao grows well in semi-shady conditions, which is why the trees that provide shade are also planted in agroforestry.
But in the first three years or so, the trees are not yet fully grown, so we plant fast-growing bananas.
The bananas not only provide shade, but they are also sold as a valuable source of income, and since the beginning of 2020, we’ve been harvesting and selling bananas every week!
The cacao starts in the nursery, where the bananas wait for about six months to grow.
Healthy, high-quality cacao pods are selected and the seeds are planted in plastic pots.
Farm of Africa is experimenting with two growing methods: planting the seedlings as they grow and grafting them.
Grafting takes a little longer at first, but it has other advantages that we will share with you when the cacao grows.
Even after planting both bananas and cacao, you still need to do a lot of work, like removing weeds and spreading organic fertilizer.
Some of the first cacao we planted are already over waist high and are growing straight up to the sky!
We’ll keep updating you on our vanilla and cacao farm!