MCC should deeply consider its value added when investing in a crowded sector where the private sector, the partner government, and other donors are already intervening. The Indonesian government and many companies and non-governmental organizations were already working to address major challenges in the Indonesian cocoa sector since the 1990s. MCC’s intervention was therefore not new, aside from promoting the collaboration of key cocoa sector actors. Also, as several large actors had been investing in the Indonesian cocoa sector for decades across several regions, it was difficult to determine what observable effects on farmers and the sector were due to MCC or other actors. Many participating farmers could not remember which company gave them what training or inputs.
Lesson Learned