Cacao crops are threatened by pests, fungal infections, a changing climate and farmers’ lack of access to fertilizers.

An article in Scientific American by Harold Schmitz and Howard-Yana Shapiro from Mars Incorporated explains what is being done to ensure a future supply of chocolate.

An estimated 5 to 6 million farmers in the tropics rely on the cultivation of cacao trees for their and their families’ livelihoods. Around 50 million livelihoods depend on the “long production road the cacao seeds travel from farm to candy on store shelves”. Combined, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Cameroon produce 70 per cent of the world’s cocoa supply.

Consumer demand for chocolate is increasing and it is expected that by 2020 demand will outstrip supply by one million metric tons. But the delicate ‘chocolate tree,’ Theobroma cacao, is in peril for a number of reasons, including:

• It is extremely susceptible to pests and fungal diseases which claim up to 40 percent of the crop
• It is hard to grow; cacao only grows in a narrow band within about 18 degrees north and south of the equator, and it prefers rich, well-drained soils, which are often scarce in the tropics, and requires heat and humidity
• Many farmers, particularly those in Africa, struggle to obtain the best seeds, fertilizers and fungicides, as well as training in their use, resulting in yields that are a third below their potential
• The limited genetic variation of the tree means there is not enough variation to provide much natural resilience to pests and disease
• Climate change is intensifying weather extremes such as floods, droughts and windstorms which could lead to drastic decreases in terrain suitable for cacao crops
• Poverty and lack of clear land tenure mean farmers are reluctant to invest in trees
• Fertilizers, fungicides and pesticides are rarely used in cacao-growing regions because farmers cannot afford them and do not know how to employ them effectively.

Researchers are working on multiple approaches that could bolster the fragile tree without destroying rainforests to gain arable land.

Mars is leading a collaboration which has sequenced the cacao genome in an attempt to find ways to breed hardier trees with higher tolerance to pests and diseases.

Mixed agroforestry systems are being investigated, in which cacao trees are planted among food crops, fodder trees and timber trees. These mixes improve water-holding capacity throughout the entire system by varying the root structures throughout the matrix of trees.

The Cocoa Livelihoods Program (an initiative of the World Cocoa Foundation, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 17 companies) has trained nearly 200,000 farmers, working with them to enhance productivity and quality, promote crop diversification and boost supply-chain efficiency.

In Southeast Asia, integrated pest-management techniques are being developed, such as using pheromone-based traps and black ants (natural enemies of the pod borer pest) rather than relying solely on pesticides.

“Tripling cacao yields sustainably is perfectly possible,” say Schmitz and Shapiro. The challenge lies in getting effective fertilizers, fungicides and training programs to poor, remote farmers so that they can become better off and better connected.

Read the full story: The Race to Save Chocolate