24 ■ GHANA
C&CI
Demand for gourmet
March 2010
chocolate made from
Farmers and industry
high-quality cocoa has
been rising steadily – and
so has its market price. to benefit from fine
This means there are
income-earning
opportunities for cocoa
flavour cocoa project
producers in West
Africa, who can move
Farmer Field Schools will be used to
provide farmers with the skills they need
into the gourmet
to cultivate fine flavour cocoa
cocoa market
E
arly 2010 marks the
halfway point in a four-year
initiative to bring fine
flavour varieties of cocoa to West
African farmers to improve pro-
duction practices and increase
farmers’ incomes from the sale of
these highly valued beans.
As Dr Peter Laderach at the
International Centre for Tropical
Agriculture (CIAT) explains, CIAT and its cent of the chocolate market on aver-
partners are beginning to see signs of
CIAT and the Sustainable
age. The ‘Ghana Fine Flavour Cocoa
success, and by the end of 2011 com-
Food Laboratory (SFL),
Project’ is therefore a chance to increase
mercial shipments of the first premium, and fortify the declining global supply of
fine flavour cocoa of West African origin
together with implementing
fine flavour cocoa for the premium mar-
will arrive at chocolate manufacturers’ partners Agro Eco Louis Bolk ket while effectively opening this prof-
loading docks.
Institute and the Cocoa
itable market opportunity for poor small-
CIAT and the Sustainable Food
Research Institute of Ghana
holder cocoa farmers.
Laboratory (SFL), together with imple-
menting partners Agro Eco Louis Bolk
are linking expertise at each
Drawing on
Institute and the Cocoa Research
stage of the cocoa value chain,
Institute of Ghana (CRIG), are linking
CRIG’s expertise
from world class cocoa geneti-
expertise at each stage of the cocoa Central to the initiative is the pre-eminent
value chain, from world class cocoa
cists and participatory farmer
breeding knowledge of CRIG and the
geneticists and participatory farmer
trainers, to the Ghanaian gov-
genetic diversity of its cocoa collection,
trainers, to the Ghanaian government
ernment and the premium
which includes many of the tested fine
and the premium chocolate industry. flavour varieties well-known throughout
chocolate industry
Latin America. In total, 24 clones of fine
Gates Foundation
flavour cocoa varieties were propagated
experiencing the largest growth rate of by the CRIG for use in the project and
funding makes
all confectionery segments, with rates of 15 yielded enough pods to process a
project possible
9-25 per cent annual growth in mature sample for a flavour evaluation. These
markets compared to an average of 3 varieties were evaluated in December
The initiative is part of a US$5.2 million per cent annual growth in chocolate 2009 for their flavour profile, which
‘New Business Models for Sustainable overall. Artisan and premium chocolate resulted in a shortlist of five of the most
Trading Relationships’ project focusing makers are scouring the world’s cocoa suitable varieties for planting. These vari-
on improving market access for small regions for the most unique and delicate eties will be distributed to farmers for
farmers throughout sub-Saharan Africa. of the aromatic cacao varieties. The planting and grafting in spring 2010.
It is led by Rainforest Alliance with fund- global supply of fine flavour cacao is The project trains farmers on a denser
ing from the Bill & Melinda Gates estimated at 170,000 tonnes, less than 5 planting system and regular pruning
Foundation. per cent of total production, whereas regime that compensates for the less
The premium chocolate segment is dark chocolate comprises roughly 10 per vigorous fine flavour clones in compari-
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