The practice of drying cocoa beans using the outdoors , under the sun is being replaced by the use of artificial drying at the Mt.Horne Cocoa Fermenting Station in St.Andrew. The decision to move into artificial drying , by way of a solar powered drying wall was made recently by the Grenada Cocoa Association (GCA). On Thursday 30th January, the GCA unveiled its Solar Drying Wall at the facility in Mt.Horne. This new equipment was made possible through support from the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) Small Grants Program.This is welcomed news by Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, our Minister Hon. Yolande Bain Horsford. She cut the ribbon to unveil the new system on Thursday. The cocoa farmers will be the primary beneficiaries. The cooperative will benefit from increased capacity and decreased fuel costs, which will stabilize the funding source with which they compensate farmers for their harvest and provide extension services. By stabilizing the revenue and processing, the GCA can focus more resources on other new initiatives, such as establishing a cohort of certified organic farmers.- This new system is expected to increase Grenada’s cocoa drying capacity in a clean, sustainable, cost-effective manner in order to create resilience against climate change.
