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USAID/USDA Colombia Cacao for Peace FY2018 Q3 ReportCfP has three high level goals: 1) boost cacao output from Colombia to the U.S. to ensure theU.S. confectionery industry continues to have a reliable source of cacao, 2) develop the U.S. fineflavor chocolate market through increased access to fine flavor, fine aroma Colombian cacao,and 3) contribute to rural stability and peace in Colombia. In order to achieve these three goals,CfP will strengthen Colombia’s public and private institutions in the cacao sector by:1) strengthening local cacao research capacity for the development of new practicesand inputs;2) increasing in-country capacity for agricultural extension, and providing agriculturalextension assistance that increases productivity and cacao farmer incomes;3) providing educational opportunities for cacao researchers and stakeholders toobtain post-graduate degrees and training and4) providing technical assistance through a value chain analysis study and follow-upactivities; developing a cacao market information system; exploring the feasibility ofcertifying Colombian cacao child labor free; identifying pesticides to combat cacaodiseases; and establishing maximum residue levels for cacao disease pesticides toprevent trade disruptions.While cacao is native to the region, Latin America lags substantially behind West Africa in cacaoproduction. In 2014, Latin America produced approximately 16% of the total world productionof cacao. Within Latin America, Colombia is the fifth largest cacao producer, after Brazil,Ecuador, the Dominican Republic and Peru. In 2017, Colombia produced 60,535 metric tons(MT) of cacao. In 2016/2017, Cote d’Ivoire, the top global producer, is expected to produce1,900,000 MT of cacao.Colombian and regional Industry experts believe that cacao is an underdeveloped domesticindustry with great potential. These experts are confident that Colombia can become one of thelargest cacao producers in the world. Rural violence and lawlessness have negatively impactedagricultural investments and growth in rural Colombia.The potential growth of the cacao sector has substantial promise for being an engine for jobcreation and inclusive economic growth within Colombia. Foremost, cacao is produced bysmall-scale farmers with very low incomes. According to FEDECACAO, the Colombian cacaoproducers association, there are 38,000 cacao producers in Colombia. As cacao comprises acritical cornerstone within the rural economy of Colombia, increasing cacao yields and cacaofarmers’ incomes represents a strong potential opportunity for advancing USAID’sdevelopmental objectives in the country.4

USAID/USDA Colombia Cacao for Peace FY2018 Q3 Report2.2 GEOGRAPHIC AREA TARGETEDThe program selected the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta region as a zone of focus for thefollowing reasons: Producers have successfully transitioned from coca to cacao as a means of alternativedevelopment It has access to three ports Unique fine flavored cacao genetic varieties are present Peace Corps, Fedecacao, and UNODC expressed interest in collaborating in the region USAID requested CfP work in the regionCfP is currently providing training and technical assistance to cacao producers from threeassociations: Guardabosques de la Sierra (San Rafael), APOMD (Dibulla), and Aso-Arhuaco(Perico Aguao). CfP is also working to strengthen the capacity of Fedecacao and Agrosavia . Inthe future, CfP plans on expanding to Aracataca – Fundación, Magdalena; San JuanNepomuceno, Bolivar; and Valencia and Tierralta, Cordoba. If security conditions allow,Caucasia will included in the expansion.Current Activities: Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta Regiono Dibulla, Perico Aguao, San Rafael Bogotá – Fedecacao capacity building Palmira – Agrosavia capacity buildingFuture Activities: Aracataca – Fundación, Magdalena San Juan Nepomuceno, Bolivar Valencia and Tierralta, CordobaMap of Colombia with work areas highlighted5

USAID/USDA Colombia Cacao for Peace FY2018 Q3 Report2.3 Key Partners and StakeholdersCfP has brought together key partners interested in strengthening the cacao-chocolate valuechain in Colombia through its activities and coordination efforts. CfP is working with thesepartners to conduct activities in the areas of 1) cooperative research, 2) agricultural extension,3) education and 4) institutional technical assistance. Activities in these areas will assistColombia increase cacao productivity and yields for the country to reach its productivepotential.Table 1 Key PartnersPartnerAgricultural Research Service (USDA)Agrosavia (formerly eace Corps – ColombiaPennsylvania State UniversityPurdue UniversityUNODCUniversity of FloridaCooperativeResearchFocus AreaAgricultural EducationExtension TechnicalAssistance In addition, CfP has involved the following key stakeholders as participants and/or collaboratorsin relevant activities: Agustin Codazzi Geographical Institute (IGAC, Spanish acronym) Casa Luker Colombian Ministry of Agriculture (MADR, Spanish acronym) FEDECAFE Finagro Alexander Von Humboldt Institute (Colombian biological resources research institute) Compañía Nacional de Chocolates PROCOLOMBIA Red Cacaotera Rural Agricultural Planning Unit (UPRA, Spanish acronym) of MADR Swisscontact Universidad de Caldas Universidad de Magdalena Universidad Nacional Insituto Colombiano Agropecuario (ICA) Private sector investors FINTRAC (USAID Producers to Market Alliance Program)6

USAID/USDA Colombia Cacao for Peace FY2018 Q3 ReportUSDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service has contributed a significant amount of financial resourcesto the project, and the CfP team has had great success mobilizing and leveraging funding frompartners.Table 2 USDA In-Kind Contributions, Mobilized and Leveraged FundsContributorExpenseUSDA In-KindFAS/BogotáTravel, Salary, and ServicesFAS/Washington D.C.Penn State Research SymposiumFAS/Washington D.C.Cochran Fellowship Program (5)FAS/Washington D.C.Borlaug and Scientific Exchanges (3)FAS/Washington D.C.Ecuador StudyMobilized and LeveragedColfuturoFEDECACAOScholarship (3)Training and Technical AssistanceFulbright-ColombiaScholarships (4)Pennsylvania State UniversityTuition Waivers for Fulbright ScholarsPurdue UniversityPartial Tuition WaiverUNODCTraining and Technical Assistance7

2.4 Deliverables StatusThe table below provides the status of project deliverables organized by focus area and partner(s).Focus AreaPartner(s)CooperativeResearchPenn StateUSDA/ARSDeliverableA technical document containing the organization and implementation of thecacao research meetingEstimatedCompletionCompleteTechnical document describing the cacao research agenda for the Caribbeannode including priority cacao research areas as identified and agreed upon bythe participants of the strategic planning session in during the researchmeeting in Barranquilla, May 2017Seed grant program. Seed grant will be used to fund cadmium reduction incacao through gene editing project.Proposal for implementation of a strategy for future funding of collaborativeresearch in Colombia. Proposal should analyze the current funding sourcesavailable in-country and internationally.Public CfP web‐based multi‐stakeholder knowledge platform for cacaoCompleteScientific publication in high impact journal2019Collaborative Research Agreement between ARS and CorpoicaCompleteIdentify new cacao collections of new genetics from ColombiaSeptember2019September2018September2019A rationalized cacao collection with minimum mislabeling and redundancyIdentified germplasm accessions, and alleles for key agronomic traits andquality attributesDevelop breeding activities that will generate new cacao varieties withimproved traits such as high productivity, disease resistance and newrootstocks that limit cadmium uptakeTest a set of superior cacao clones developed by ARS under high diseasepressureAssess the biodiversity collection of cacao disease causing organisms8End UsersCIAT, Corpoica,FEDECACAO, ColombianCacao Researchers, USbased cacao 019September2019September2019Corpoica and theColombian cacao researchcommunity, extensionists,cacao producers

USAID/USDA Colombia Cacao for Peace FY2018 Q3 ReportFocus EDECACAOFulbrightColombia,Penn ssistancePurdueCIATDeliverableResearch to improve the management and production and address priorityissues, such as cadmium and heavy metal toxicities.Demonstration farms ompleteActivities led by UNODC and FEDECACAO, supported by USDA-USAID leadingto its Capacity Building for Training and technical assistance for FEDECACAOIn Progress1/2021Four postgraduate degrees in agricultural fields from Penn State University forColombian cacao researchersMSc. research projects in support of CfP objectivesJune 2019Three Colombian post‐graduates trained to contribute to the Colombian cacaosectorThree graduate research theses and peer reviewed publications. Purdue willensure that theses and peer‐reviewed publications are aligned with the Cacaofor Peace objectives stated in the USAID/USDA Participating Agency ProgramAgreement.Research thesis concepts. Researchers will develop research proposalconcepts during the first few months at Purdue which will be presented to FASin a virtual workshop for comments.Trip reports for any trips taken by the CfP‐Colfuturo researchers.June 2020Organization and execution of workshop to present cacao value-chain studyand solicit feedbackFinal version of the supply chain and extension studies. Final products mustbe delivered in Spanish and English. Study will include analysis of Ecuadorvalue-chain to determine how the country has been able to grow into amajor international cacao exporter.Value-chain Study Booklet in English and Spanish.9Within 10days of tripCompleteAugust 2018EnglishCompleteCompleteEnd UsersCacao producers,FEDECACAO, CacaoExtensionistsColombian CacaoResearchers, Colombiancacao sectorUSAID, CfP, FEDECACAO,Red, Corpoica, U. Nacional,other key stakeholders

USAID/USDA Colombia Cacao for Peace FY2018 Q3 ReportFocus AreaDeliverablePartner(s)Penn StateUFL – ChildLaborUFL on and execution of workshop to present final Value-chain StudyCacao genetic diversity map for Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta region includinginformation on the genetic type, location, photographs and other notes ontrees growing on farms in our target communitiesDatabase including the information of the cacao genetic survey: sampled plantlocations, raw SNP data files for all genotypes, genetic ancestry analysisEstimatedCompletionCompleteFebruary2020End UsersCorpoica, CIAT, U.Nacional, Fedecacao,extensionists, CfP, andcacao producersSpecific recommendations for future improvement of genetic diversity and orpotential marketing strategies based on genetic varietiesScientific publication in high impact journalFebruary20202020Analytical report on why certification was selectedTraining Program for a Corpoica scientist actively involved in cacao researchSeptember2019CompleteFedecacao, extensionists,CfP, and cacao producersCorpoicaFinal ReportAugust 2018Corpoica and CfPFungicides registered for use and available to farmersJune 2019Residue data submitted to Codex to establish MRLsJune 2019Corpoica, CIAT, U.Nacional, Fedecacao,extensionists, CfP, cacaoproducersCacao exporters and ICA10

USAID/USDA Colombia Cacao for Peace FY2018 Q3 Report3. PROGRAM FOCUS AREASThe purpose of CfP is to strengthen Colombia’s key cacao agricultural institutions in the publicand private sectors with 1) cooperative research, 2) agricultural extension, 3) education, and 4)institutional technical assistance. CfP will expand longer-term opportunities in ways that spreadthe benefits of investments, economic growth and development to help Colombia’s cacaobecome more competitive and profitable. Using a whole of government approach, CfP willsupport Colombia’s peace process by establishing a road map for post-conflict agriculturaldevelopment, focusing on cacao and facilitating initiatives to improve economic opportunity,stability, and peace in targeted rural areas.3.1. Cooperative ResearchCfP is funding USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and the Colombian Corporation forAgricultural Research (Agrosavia) to work collaboratively on the following activities:Activity 1: Assess genetic diversity of Agrosavia’s entire cacao collection. This will be doneusing single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) fingerprinting, identifying and eliminating offtype and duplicate entries, assessing diversity gaps in the collection, and surveying thegenetic diversity of on-farm and wild cacao populations.Activity 2: Develop breeding activities that will generate new cacao varieties with improvedtraits, such as high productivity, disease resistance, and limited cadmium uptake.Activity 3: Assess the common diseases of cacao, and determine the biodiversity of thesedisease-causing organisms to better understand their underlying biology and improvedisease control measures.Activity 4: Research and transfer best agronomic practices to improve the management andproduction of cacao, and address the priority issue of cadmium.11

USAID/USDA Colombia Cacao for Peace FY2018 Q3 ReportDuring this reporting period CfP conducted activities in collaboration with Agrosavia underactivities 1 and 4. With regards to activity 1, Cfp financed scientistand collegues to collect leaf samples from Agrosavia’s entiregermplasm bank. They travelled to Palmira from Bogota andspent 4 days collecting the samples. Five large boxes containing2800 leaf samples were transported to Bogota and then toTibaitata research center located in Mosquera. The samples werecollected conserved in paper bags and stored in bags with silicagel (provided by ARS) to avoid the DNA degradation. The samplesneed to be processed at Agrosavia. They will be cut into 5cm xCacao plant tissue sample5cm, packaged in Ziploc bags and sent to the USDA’s ARS for genetic analyses. This activity willallow Agrosavia to effectively identify cacao genetics accessions that are productive and diseaseresistant. In terms of activity 4, CfP executed an agreement with the University ofFlorida to trainCorpoica scientist on the identificationof cadmium in the soil and in plantmaterial. The training was carried outin the IRREC Soil and Water ScienceLaboratory of University of Florida,where she obtained specific knowledgeon the methodologies employed forinvestigatingsoilchemistryofcadmium, including the determinationof available cadmium (Cd) in soil andsoilCdfractionation(waterUFL Professor and Agrosavia researchersoluble/exchangeable, carbonate-bound,oxides-bound, organic matter-bound, and residual). For estimation of available Cd in soils,several methods of single extraction (0.01 M CaCl2, 0.1 N HCl, Mehlich 3 and 0.5 M NH4Ac) wereused and compared for their efficiency and applications. For the realization of theseexperiments, they worked together with a visiting scholar from China, a chemist and laboratorytechnician and UFL staff.Corpoica scientist learned to estimate total Cd in soil using USEPA 3050 method (USEnvironmental Protection Agency, 1995b), for which they received training from the LaboratoryTechnician II on the use of the digestion block for both plant tissue and soil samples. Finally,the Laboratory Technician II gave the training on the management of the ICP-OESequipment, by using this equipment all the samples obtained for soil and plant tissue wereanalyzed, the concentrations of cadmium were obtained of the acid digestions as well as thefractions obtained from single and sequential extractions.In addition, during the second week of the training, the visiting scientist gave an oralpresentation entitled "Pollution of heavy metals to the soil and effects on human health" at the12

USAID/USDA Colombia Cacao for Peace FY2018 Q3 Reportmonthly seminars of Soil and Water Science Lab that is programmed for students and visitingscholars.The objectives of the training program were achieved. Corpocia learned to use differentmethodologies for the determination of total and bioavailable cadmium (Cd), and other heavymetals in soils, in addition, they studied the use of acid digestions to measure totalconcentrations of metals in plant tissues and soils. Finally, they learned how to operateinductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICPOES) for analyzing elementalconcentrations of Cd and other heavy metals in soil extracts and plant/soil digesters; anddeveloped skills for future operation of ICP-OES in the Colombia based laboratory.In addition, under this focus area CfP expects to receive funds from USDA’s FAS in support of agene editing project for the reduction of cadmium absorption by cacao plants. The objective ofthis project is to develop, through genome edition technologies, cacao plant varieties producedin cultivation by selective breeding (cacao cultivars) that do not absorb the heavy metalcadmium (Cd). Beginning in January of 2019, cocoa powder and chocolate imported by theEuropean Union (EU) will be restricted based on Cd content. In California, a warning label isalready required on products that have more than 4.1 mg of Cd per daily serving of a singleproduct. Cacao produced in some Latin American countries, including Colombia, suffer from Cdcontamination. The development of these cacao cultivars would help to prevent the disruptionof cacao exports from Colombia and the corresponding loss of income for cacao smallholders.In Colombia (and in the region), cacao is considered a viable alternative to coca production. Inorder to successfully promote cacao as an alternative to coca, a viable long term solution to thecadmium content issue must be developed.Finally, under this focus area, in May 2018 CfP executed agreements with CIAT, USDA’s NRCS,and Penn State Univeristy for creation of an ArcGIS online map with multiple layers includingsuitability for cacao, cadmium content, water supply, and cacao genetic varieties andcharacteristics to support increased cacao productivity in three communities located in theSierra Nevada de Santa Marta region. The online map will bolster cacao

This is the program's eleventh quarterly report, and it captures major accomplishments and activities. The period covered by this report is April 1st, 2018 . Cadmium is a heavy metal in the soil that is absorbed by cacao in highly productive cacao regions of Colombia. .