Conference on the Economics and Politics of Chocolate
• Cocoa represents a multi-billion £ industry
US chocolate market = approx $18 billion annually
UK chocolate market = approx £4 billion annually
• Consumption is rising and major growth in key markets e.g.
India and China but production is falling
• The global cocoa market is presently characterised by:
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more demand for quality cocoa (single origin and ‘terroir’)
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a concern for ethical practices in production
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undersupply (an estimated 1M/MT annually by 2014)
which is driving prices up (and chocolate bar sizes down)
Typical profile in Ghana and the DR: male, owns a small plot of
land (≤ 10 acres) where cocoa is grown alongside other crops
Incomes are low, debts are common and many farms are not
well-maintained, which reduces yields
Farm maintenance and receptiveness to agricultural extension advice
is affected by:
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Gender – In the DR women were more interested in receiving
agricultural extension advice, though less likely to be literate
which can influence outreach methods
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Culture – Attitudes towards Black Pod in Ghana and towards
pruning and hybrid tree varieties in the DR
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Age - Average age of cocoa producers surveyed:
• Ghana: 51 years old
• India: 50 years old
• Dominican Republic: 58 years old
Young people are not interested in becoming cocoa farmers, and this
puts the long-term future of cocoa production at risk
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Distinction between working on a farm and becoming a cocoa
farmer
Factors influencing working on a farm now (‘child labour’) include:
poor school infrastructure, family breakdown and malnutrition
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Distinction between working on a farm and becoming a cocoa
farmer
Factors influencing working on a farm now (‘child labour’) include:
poor school infrastructure, family breakdown and malnutrition.
Not wanting to be a cocoa farmer – education and farming seen as
mutually exclusive. Farming associated with backwardness since
colonial times; young people who have attended school wish to
become teachers, nurses, pastors, doctors etc.
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Women not encouraged to enter farming
Low incomes from cocoa (as a result of poor farm
maintenance and low yields) are not attractive to younger
generations
Seasonality/irregularity of incomes even more problematic.
Issue is not only how much farmers earn but also about how
frequently they earn it. Young people want to be able to pay
regular expenses such as gas, water, electricity, rent, school
expenses, mobile phone etc.
The seasonality of cocoa incomes was a key deterrent for the
youth
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Discussions of age in cocoa tend to focus on the work of children in
West Africa. However, attention also needs to be paid to the high age
profile of farmers; ageing exacerbates the current gap between
production and consumption and poses a serious challenge to the longterm global future of cocoa.
There are key economic and socio-cultural factors which impact yields
(and therefore incomes) and prevent younger farmers (of both sexes)
from taking up cocoa farming.
Intervention is necessary; it is not enough to assume that a cocoa
shortage will lead to higher prices and a renewed interest in production.
The abandonment of cocoa has implications for long-term food security
and is symptomatic of broader problems in farming and food
sustainability worldwide
Context-specific programmes can help address these issues and there is
scope to develop locally appropriate agricultural extension programmes