Sri Lanka - a chocoholic's paradise!

By Nilma DOLE

Say the word 'chocolate' and you get a favourable response from anyone, young or old but just how much do we know about Sri Lankan cocoa?

In 1200 AD, the Aztecs considered cocoa of great value, even more valuable than gold and it was called the 'food of Gods'. Even though chocolate might be widely available in the world today, there is reason to believe that pure chocolate, fine cocoa mass in particular, will be a rare commodity in the future.

According to the ICCO (International Cocoa Organisation), Sri Lanka is home to the world's best premium cocoa which is of a high grade. The ICCO estimates production of certified organic cocoa at 15,500 tonnes, sourced from Sri Lanka and several other countries. At present, Sri Lanka enjoys being in the top ten position of having the best cocoa quality in the world.

However, it is unfortunate that those in the plantation sector do not think of cocoa as a complimentary crop to primary crop sources such as coconut and rubber.

The Director General of the Export Agriculture Department, Dr. Lionel Gunaratne said that it's not that there is no support for cocoa growing, as the Department of Export Agriculture has the ability to give plenty of advice, guidance and free saplings to potential and existing cocoa growers.

"The problem is the attitude of growing cocoa in which it takes a lot of time to rake in profits," said the DG. He said that farmers think that they have to wait for a long time to harvest, have to spend a lot on labour and the problem of monkeys and other animals feeding on the fruits during harvest time is also cumbersome for farmers.

In addition to this, there is lack of education and awareness pertaining to the benefits of cocoa as farmers who choose to grow only one crop, do not compliment this with other crops. There is also the issue of labour and the cost of skilled labour which is not just expensive but difficult to find. "If farmers grow just a single crop and depend on it as the main source of income, they are bound to run into trouble if it doesn't deliver the expected harvest with the appropriate weather conditions or labour. If farmers grow other crops that compliment their main crop source, they can adequately live off their land without any problem."

Compared to a slouch in 2001, today the price of dried cocoa beans can fetch up to Rupees 200 per kilo, so it shows that growing cocoa can be beneficial.

Cocoa (Theobroma cacao.L) is one of Sri Lanka's important export agricultural crops and our export volume has decreased from 3,000 metric tonnes in the 1950s to 1,100 metric tonnes in 2003.

"We used to produce 12,000 metric tonnes of cocoa annually, but nowadays, Sri Lanka produces about 5,000 metric tonnes of cocoa which shows that it is highly disregarded," said the DG.

Hence, research on plant genetic improvement of cocoa is seen as an important aspect to improve production. According to Dr. H.A. Sumanasena of the Department of Export Agriculture, the variability in characters attributed to the yield in present population of cocoa is ascribed to regular cross pollination and several re-introductions of cocoa genetic resources into Sri Lanka.

"We have several hybrids that are disease-resistant, grows in favourable weather and overall are strong species of cocoa that can contribute to a bountiful cocoa harvest," he said. In fact, the best variety of cocoa that grows well in Sri Lanka is the SCA 6 and ICS 6 variety. If you take care of your plants well, a cocoa tree can produce more than a kilo of cocoa beans in a single harvest provided it is maintained well," he said.

The best area that cocoa thrives is the north part of Matale, right down to Galewela including Moneragala and intermediate zones. "Places that have distributed but not heavy rainfall are ideal conditions for cocoa growing. But you can't just plant a sapling and forget about it, a farmer should take care of it at least for the first four years continuously to produce good cocoa pods in the future," he said. Moreover, places such as Kegalle and surrounding areas might be favourable for cocoa trees but the weather is too wet for cocoa cultivation as the humid conditions contribute to the black pod disease," said Dr. Sumanasena.

In Malaysia, the South Pacific Islands and India, cocoa is a popular and profitable intercrop with coconut. In Sri Lanka, this combination is uncommon but is encouraged because of its agronomic suitability and the favourable demand for cocoa beans. In 1985, there were profitable findings on the effect of the cocoa varieties N and K on the growth and yield of cocoa grown under coconut as a mixed crop in the wet zone conducted by L.V.K. Liyanage, K.B. Dasanayake and H.A.J. Gunathilaka.

Sunday Observer spoke to Rex Hatherley, a cocoa expert who has spent several years in Ghana reaping the cocoa beans that his father sowed and taking on the cocoa-growing mantle. He has also worked as a cocoa buyer for a top Holland company where he spent nearly 20 years buying 15 percent of the world's cocoa produced at the time. "Today there are three distinct varieties of cocoa namely Criollo, Forastero and Trinitario," he said. In Sri Lanka, Trinitario which is a combination of Criollo and Forastero is grown and it resembles more like that of Forastero cocoa pods.

He has also undertaken a mini-cocoa growing project which he said works best if several external factors are taken into consideration. He said, "In my opinion, I think a proper working cocoa farm should have a coconut as the main crop source, cocoa as a secondary crop, some gliricidia sepium grown as a border around the crops, have some chickens running around and a mini hydro power project on the side."

Hatherley explained, "The cocoa can be harvested in four years alongside coconut which will give you at least a daily-weekly harvest, gliricidia will help in nitrogen-fixation of the crops, the chicken fleas help in pollination as this was a trick farmers in South America do when they need a good harvest as tiny midges pollinate cocoa flowers and the hydro will give electricity." In old cocoa trees, planters can use the 40 year-old root system to graft a new planting into the existing cocoa bark. "With an extensive root system, the new cocoa plant that is grafted into the old one will see a quick growth," he said. According to him, flowering occurs on a "pod cushion" where many flowers are produced but they are small, fragile and not easy to pollinate (hence the need for chickens). Younger trees concentrate fruit on the trunk of the tree and as the tree ages so the crop migrates into the upper branches. Great care must be taken during growing and, more especially, during harvesting not to damage the pod cushion site as this will reduce future flowering. Once fertilised, the flower turns into a "min-pod' or cherelle. This grows in spurts; first in length and then in girth. Sri Lanka harvests cocoa from November to February and from March to October provided conditions are favourable. "As for the monkey trouble, there is a type of sound-emitting device that a farmer can use to chase monkeys. Instead of shooting or killing monkeys, a farmer can walk around with this device, which only the monkeys and birds can hear and they won't be anywhere near your cocoa trees," he said. This shows that if there is a will, there is a way.

"Once a cocoa bean is harvested, de-shelled, grind, alkaline and roasted it goes through a stringent quality process where you get 1.5 percent as cocoa mass, out of cocoa butter (2.5), cocoa cake (3.0) and cocoa powder (0.5)," said Hatherley. Moreover, farmers are looking at new ways to make products, including chocolate using cocoa powder. "However, the demand for pure chocolate, made from fine cocoa butter and cocoa mass is high as it is a specialised process and the art of testing pure chocolate is to stick it on the roof of your mouth and when it melts, it cools to form a pleasant chocolate taste," he said.

There is a demand for tailor-made chocolate and it will be a valuable commodity in the future. Hatherley said, "Except for Ghana where much of Cadbury's chocolate comes from as well as Nigeria, cocoa trees in the Ivory Coast and even South America are now on the verge of decline and not producing as much cocoa as they used to.

The Ivory Coast cocoa trees are in need of replanting covering a collosal area of 1 million hectares". He said that South American cocoa is very susceptible to Witch's Brew, a type of fungal disease prevalent in cocoa trees. The rest of the South American cocoa is used by chocolate-manufacturing companies so the remaining cocoa is what is imported. According to the ICCO, the demand for organic cocoa products is growing at a very strong pace, as consumers are increasingly concerned about the safety of their food supply along with other environmental issues.

According to Euromonitor International, global organic chocolate sales were estimated to have increased from a value of US$ 171 million in 2002 to US$ 304 million in 2005.

"It is apparent that if Sri Lanka doesn't start growing cocoa, it might be overlooked as the cocoa hotspot which will mean we won't have any cocoa left. There is always a worldwide demand for chocolate with good-quality cocoa and with cocoa-growing continents being unable to cater to the demand, Sri Lanka can make full use of the opportunity," said Hatherley.

It has also been known that several cocoa producers come to Sri Lanka with cocoa of sub-standard value, mix it with a small percentage of our cocoa and market it under the Sri Lankan brand name. It can severely affect the reputation of cocoa when it happens because the quality of Sri Lankan cocoa is first-class. What is also unfortunate to see is that Sri Lanka's demand for cocoa in terms of chocolate produced by the local companies is so great that we have resorted to importing our cocoa from nearby countries.

In a country that produces some of the finest cocoa in the world, why do we have to depend on other countries that have low quality cocoa to cater to our love of chocolate?