Cocoa production

How can cocoa cultivation be improved with the right pollination technique? A team of researchers, also from Germany’s Julius Maximilians Universität Würzburg (JMU), have looked at how this can best be achieved.

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Cocoa production

Our authors take a look at different cacao farming systems. They explore what sustainable cacao farming can look like and explain why agroforestry systems play a crucial role.

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Cocoa production

Cacao has been cultivated in the western Amazon since prehistoric times, and the area is a valuable resource for the genetic diversity of cacao plants. Local varieties help boost biodiversity and produce fine-flavoured…

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Cocoa production

Cocoa, a major commodity globally, depends on insects for pollination. However, the cocoa pollinator’s identity is largely unknown and there are important knowledge gaps regarding landscape and farm-level management…

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Cocoa production

At the invitation of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH the first multinational meeting of the actors in the West African cocoa sector was held at the end of November in Abidjan, Côte…

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Women working on a cocoa farm in West Africa.
Cocoa production

Current cocoa prices cannot ensure farmers a living wage. The German Initiative on Sustainable Cocoa, launched by Germany’s ministries of development and food and agriculture, seeks to improve the living conditions of…

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Cocoa production

In late January 2019, Germany’s Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture, Julia Klöckner, and Germany’s Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development, Gerd Müller, presented their 10-point plan for sustainable…

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Cocoa production

As chocolate becomes ever more popular, demand for cocoa keeps rising. For production to keep up, agricultural practices have to become more sustainable. Swiss researchers have tested what shade trees can contribute to…

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Cocoa beans at organic cocoa collecting station in Monte Forte, São Tomé. Cocoa farmers need a fair certification system to survive in the market. <br/> Photo: ©IFAD/Susan Beccio
Cocoa production

The merger of Rainforest Alliance and UTZ is aimed to simplify the certification process for farmers. Currently, over 180,000 farmers are certified twice, once for each standard.

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Cocoa production

A new study compiled for the French Fair Trade Platform suggests that fair trade ensuring that cocoa producers earn enough to cover their production costs and the basic needs of their families can improve the…

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