Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
After Europeans discovered the pleasures of chocolate beverages in the sixteenth
century, the consumption of cocoa increased. The increased demand lead to produc-
tion expanding from Mexico to the Caribbean islands of Jamaica and Trinidad. The
majority of cocoa was still produced by small growers, but in Trinidad, the first
100 and 160 ha plantations were established. As cocoa cultivation expanded into
Venezuela in 16
th
century, the scenario was repeated with mainly small growers and
a few family-owned, large plantations. The 140 ha “Chuao” plantation, established
500 years ago, still produces cocoa of high quality.
Large, family-owned plantations of 100-160 ha was the model for cocoa cultiva-
tion as it expanded into Ecuador in 1605. Ecuador dominated world cocoa produc-
tion in the nineteenth century (Dand
2011
). In Brazil, cocoa expanded from small-
holder plots in the Amazon region in 1746 to Bahia with 100-200 ha farms. In the
Americas, few large company plantations were established, the most well-known
being the United Fruits Plantation in Costa Rica where cocoa served as a substitute
for bananas due to Panama disease (Wood and Lass
1985
).
Currently, Ecuador and Brazil continue with medium size family plantations
with a few very large plantations in Ecuador, considered to be the most advanced
and profitable, with irrigated areas producing high yields. South America currently
has the highest proportions of cocoa plantations over 100 ha but most cocoa is still
produced by small growers.
In South America, large, traditional plantations face challenges, especially with
high production losses due to fungal diseases such as Witches broom (
Crinipellis
perniciosa
) and Frosty Pod rot (
Moniliophthora roreri
) and with high labour costs.
In Brazil, to counteract high labour costs, some plantations are developed in dry ar-
eas to avoid disease, using superior, high-yielding clones managed intensively with
optimal irrigation and fertigation.
Cocoa was introduced from Brazil to the islands of Sao Tome and Fernando Po
in 1822 and, by late nineteenth century, from there to Ghana, initiating the largest
cocoa expansion ever, based almost entirely on the initiative of smallholder grow-
ers. The first cocoa was exported from the Gold Coast (Ghana) in 1891 and, until
now, African cocoa production is dominated by small cocoa growers with areas of
1-2.5 ha with few growers having more than 8 ha (Wood and Lass
1985
).
In anglophone African colonies, foreigners were not permitted to purchase land.
A few locally-owned plantations were established, the best known being the Badoo
family plantation of 35.9 ha in Ghana (Beckett
1946
). In Cote d'Ivoire, some Euro-
pean settlers established cocoa plantations with mixed success but very few remain
operational. There were also some large plantations in Nigeria with few surviving as
part of Agricultural Development Corporations. In Cameroon, by 1912, over 80 %
of exported cocoa was produced on plantations (West and Voelcker
1942
). Cur-
rently, however, the bulk of production in Cameroon occurs on small family farms
(Anon
2012d
).
In Africa, the domination by smallholder growers (Fig.
8.20
) over the planta-
tion production model is due to several issues, including land ownership, lack of
investment security, inappropriate planting material, soil nutrient depletion due to a
lack of fertiliser and low organic matter content (Rob Lockwood, personal commu-
