Methods
Every practice on this farm has been carefully chosen, tested, and adapted to the specific conditions of Meduma: the soil, the climate, the trees, and the people who work here. From the way we prune to the way we collect data, each method builds toward the same goal: a farm that produces more, costs less, and gets healthier every year.
Table of Contents
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Mulching
When organic material such as cocoa husks, pruned branches, fallen leaves is left on the soil surface rather than burnt or removed, it slowly breaks down and feeds the soil beneath it. This is mulching. It reduces water loss from the soil surface, suppresses weeds, moderates soil temperature, and adds organic matter over time.
On this farm, sweet potato vines serve as a living mulch between trees, covering exposed ground and protecting the soil from erosion and direct sun. Dried pineapple leaves and cocoa husks are also used around the base of young seedlings to retain moisture during dry periods. Mulching costs nothing! It uses what the farm already produces.
Pruning
Pruning is not about cutting trees back. It is about managing light, air, and energy across the whole system.
Cocoa performs best under 30-50% canopy shade. When the canopy is too dense, photosynthesis is limited, disease pressure increases, and fertilizer has little effect. When it is too open, heat and water stress reduce yields.
On this farm, pruning is done selectively: targeting over shaded or unhealthy sections, removing chupons from cocoa trees, and adjusting canopy cover as the agroforestry system develops. Timing matters. Shade tree pruning begins in November, allowing the farm to enter the dry season with the right balance of cover. Around year five, thinning of high canopy trees will begin to maintain optimal light levels as the system matures.
Compost
Compost is organic material (farm residues, food waste, animal manure) broken down into a stable, nutrient rich soil amendment. Unlike synthetic fertilizers, compost feeds the soil as well as the crop. It improves soil structure, supports microbial life, and increases water retention over time.
On this farm, poultry manure is already used as an organic input: 200 bags per year across the plot. The project is expanding this through better composting practices, using cocoa husks and pruned biomass as the primary feedstock. Biochar is added to compost to improve nutrient retention and prevent leaching. The goal is to reduce dependence on purchased external inputs by building the farm’s capacity to produce its own fertility.
Pest Monitoring
Conventional pest management in this region follows a fixed calendar: spray every two weeks regardless of what is actually happening on the farm. This approach is expensive, damages soil life, and contributes to pest resistance over time.
The Farm of the Future uses Integrated Pest Management instead. Spraying only happens when pest levels exceed a threshold that truly threatens yield. Farmers are trained to observe regularly, checking what percentage of trees show infection, what percentage of pods are affected, and what conditions are driving pressure.
On this farm, 25% of trees currently show some pest presence, with 10% of pods on affected trees showing infection. Common pressures include blackpod and capsids. Pruning, shade management, maintaining biodiversity reduce pressure before chemical intervention is needed.
Data Collection
On this farm, data collection is part of the daily and seasonal rhythm and not a separate administrative task. It is an integrated part of how the farm is managed.
Field observations are recorded through the Kijani app, capturing GPS located data on shade levels, soil conditions, pest presence, and crop development. This data is validated by satellite and used to generate personalised farm management advice. Carboneers’ AI system uses smartphones and mini drones to count cocoa pods, map tree cover, and detect early disease outbreaks, reducing harvest losses that currently run between 25% and 40% across the region.
Biochar kiln conditions are monitored in real time through IoT sensors. Youth trained in the Farm of the Future bootcamp have already used mWater and Google Forms to collect and analyse soil moisture data on this farm. Every data point collected here contributes to the evidence base that will support scaling this model to 200 farms by 2028.
