News and Events

Since plants thrive very poorly in large parts of Togo, our resourceful project manager Gbati Nikabou is always developing new ideas to make the trees more resilient and more productive.

He explains: “Four years ago I stuck a tiny piece of cambium from a wild fig tree into the bark of a cocoa tree. The desired goal is that cocoa trees should bear as much fruit, from the roots to the branches and the bark, just like the wild fig trees. We have been following the positive results for three years. The next step is a cross between fig and cacao trees.”

Another major problem is the insect infestation of some trees. Gbati describes: “Every year, mango fruits are attacked by flies, which spoil the entire production yield.” They lay eggs in the young fruits. As they develop, the larvae eat the mango flesh from the inside.

The disappointment among growers is so great that many are cutting down their mango trees.

Still others resort to chemicals to get some harvest. One and the other solution are pure disasters.But there is a variety of mango that repel these flies with its scent: the governor mango tree. We have grafted onto the same basis a piece of Governor and a piece of Smith. Smith's precious piece is said to take on the properties of Governor and be able to repel flies in a natural way. If it works, we will develop Governor as the basis for all mango varieties.”

We keep our fingers crossed that his plans work out well and more fruits can be reaped. In a country like Togo, that means a lot to the people.