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Chocolate vs. Cocoa
Chocolate and cocoa are two terms often used interchangeably, but they are actually different. Cocoa is the seed of a cacao tree while chocolate is made by mixing cocoa with other ingredients that can include milk, sugar or cream.
The Cocao Plant: What is it?
Botanically, the cocoa tree belongs to the Sterculiacee family and was named 'Theobroma cacao' by the Swedish naturalist Linnaeus (from the Greek Theos: god and broma: food). The origin of its cultivation is shrouded in legend, as some attribute it to the Mayan people, who lived in the Yucatan, while others claim that the first trees grew in the Amazon forests adjacent to the Amazon and Orinoco rivers.
Cultivation requires a constant hot and humid climate throughout the year, as is typical in tropical regions. This is why plantations are only found in the equatorial region between the 20th parallel north and the 20th parallel south. Since its first appearance in Europe in the 16th century, cocoa has been universally acclaimed, not only for its pleasing taste, but also for its appeal.
Test your knowledge of cocoa
Where does cocoa originate from?
Cocoa is made by processing the dried seeds which can be found within the pods hanging from the cocoa tree. The cocoa tree has long been linked to the Mayan and other ancient civilisations in Mesoamerica. However, a recent genetic research led by Omar Cornejo, a Washington State University population geneticist, revealed in October 2018 that the Criollo variety (the world’s most coveted variety of cocoa) actually originated and was first domesticated in Northern Ecuador, but was later on fully domesticated in Central America about 3,600 years ago.
In a nutshell, Criollo was found to have first been domesticated in South America (present-day Ecuador), and not in Central America as previously thought.
Where is cocoa mostly produced?
For the 2019/20 cocoa year, the International Cocoa Organization forecast indicates that 9 countries (Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Ecuador, Cameroon, Nigeria, Indonesia, Brazil, Peru and the Dominican Republic) produce altogether over 93% of the world’s cocoa output.
What is the definition of sustainable cocoa?
Given the complexity of the business cocoa represents, defining sustainable cocoa in simplistic terms would be of a tall order. However, under the auspices of the International Standard Organization, stakeholders from all sectors of the cocoa industry, developed the ISO 34101 on sustainable cocoa.
The standard aims to encourage the professionalization of cocoa farming, thus contributing to farmer livelihoods and better working conditions. It covers the organizational, economic, social and environmental aspects of cocoa farming as well as featuring strict requirements for traceability, offering greater clarity about the sustainability of the cocoa that is used.
How is cocoa harvested?
As is the case with many other tropical crops, the cocoa harvest is spread over several months, usually with a major peak and a minor peak of pod ripeness/harvesting . A maturing crop tends to suppress further flowering, and some varieties have sharper peaks than others, though the new hybrids tend to have a flatter harvest pattern. These factors, together with weather variations between seasons, make accurate predictions of crop timing and size difficult.
Ripe pods can be harvested over a 2-week time frame (before, as, or after they start to change colour) usually with no yield loss and can be left on the tree for a further 2-3 weeks without a reduction in flavour quality.
Rodents are attracted by the sweet mucilage in the ripe pod; any rodent damage breaks the pod wall, exposes the rip beans to oxygen and levels of germinated beans can become significant. These are classified as a defect and are to be avoided – the germ is often broken off and moulds can enter through the resulting hole.
The pods are opened to remove the beans within a week to 10 days after harvesting. In general, the harvested pods are grouped together and split either on or at the edge of the plantation. Sometimes the pods are transported to a fermenter before splitting. If the pods are opened in the planting areas, the discarded husks can be distributed throughout the fields to return nutrients to the soil. The best way of opening the pods is to use a wooden club which, if it strikes the central area of the pod, causes it to split into two halves; it is then easy to remove by hand the beans. A cutting tool, such as a machete, is often used to split the pod though this can damage the beans. Some machinery has been developed for pod opening but smallholders in general carry out the process manually.
After extraction from the pod, the beans undergo a fermentation and drying process before being bagged for delivery
What are the main challenges facing cocoa growers?
Typically, cocoa is produced by smallholders or through family subsistence farming. In West Africa, for example, where about 70% of the world production comes from, many farms have less than a hectare dedicated to cocoa. The same is generally true for South-East Asia, and Indonesia in particular. There are however exceptions. Some large cocoa farms can be found in Brazil and Ecuador.
And these growers typically face a large number and a wide variety of challenges; some are location specific, but many are common to nearly all cocoa growing regions.
Low yields
Average yields for cocoa production are low due to extensive systems of cultivation, ageing tree populations, high incidence and poor control systems of pests and diseases, ageing farmer populations, shortage of affordable labour, lack of easily available inputs, poor extension services and above all, the use of poor/average quality planting material.
Planting material
This is the most important input in any cropping system; in the case of cocoa, trees need to give a good yield of dry beans under a range of growing conditions, having a number of desirable agricultural, commercial and local characters. Sadly, a high proportion of the cocoa planting material currently in use does not meet many of these desirable criteria.
Age of cocoa trees
A high percentage of the world cocoa tree stock is of advanced age.
Availability of suitable land
Cocoa has generally been planted following timber logging from primary forests.
Lack of credit availability for smallholders
Banking systems are unable to provide suitable seasonal or replanting credits for smallholder cocoa growers in any of the major growing areas. In many cases, this is because growers do not have any, or adequate, collateral as they often do not possess any formal title proving ownership of the land they have been using for decades. This is a major constraint to efficient cocoa cultivation.