Improving the sustainability of cocoa smallholders farming in Aceh, Indonesia

Cocoa is the main plantation commodity in Aceh as Aceh government reinforces Aceh as the national cocoa resource. Various efforts have been performed through many development and training programs for sustainable cocoa production. This study was aimed to identify the sustainability of cocoa smallholder farming based on the ecological, economical, and social aspects. This study was conducted in Aceh Tenggara and Pidie Jaya District. The study method used descriptive-quantitative method by calculating the score range of sustainability level. The result showed that cocoa smallholders challenged sustainability problems based on ecological, economical, and social aspects. The sustainability of cocoa smallholder farming in Aceh Tenggara District achieves a better performance based on the economical, ecological, and social sustainability aspects than in Pidie Jaya District.

Aroma Properties of Cocoa Fruit Pulp from Different Origins

Cocoa pulp occurs as a by-product of cocoa bean production and can be repurposed to different food applications, such as jams, fruit preparations and beverages, improving the sustainability of cocoa production, as well as the livelihoods of cocoa farmers. In this work, aroma-active compounds of fresh cocoa fruit pulps from different origins were investigated by applying aroma extract dilution analyses in combination with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry/olfactometry for identification. In total, 65 aroma-active compounds were determined in four different pulps originating from Indonesia, Vietnam, Cameroon, and Nicaragua. Vietnamese pulp showed the highest number of aroma-active regions, while Cameroonian pulp accounted for the lowest. Moreover, Cameroonian cocoa pulp showed the lowest FD factors. Overall, the odorants with the highest FD factors were trans-4,5-epoxy-(E)-decenal, 2- and 3-methylbutanoic acid, 3-(methylthio)propanal, 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine, (E,E)-2,4-nonadienal, (E,E)-2,4-decadienal, 4-vinyl-2-methoxyphenol, δ-decalactone, 3-hydroxy-4,5-dimethylfuran-2(5H)-one, dodecanoic acid, and linalool. This study provides insights into the aroma composition of fresh cocoa pulp from different origins for future food applications.

A sour taste in your mouth: consumer privileges and the socio-ecological imperatives of chocolate as pedagogy

This article describes how I use autoethnography as a methodological approach to display the multiple layers of my consciousness as a critical global sustainability educator. I use writing to demonstrate how my reflective processes on my work with chocolate as pedagogy in schools facilitate an exploration of the philosophical and pedagogical underpinnings of what it means and what it takes to educate for sustainability and global awareness and in culturally diverse settings. My desire here is to share insights by writing, describing, examining and theorising my experiences of using chocolate as a pedagogical resource for global education and socio-ecological learning to university students. By using autoethnography, I take the position that writing is a way of knowing, as well as a method of self-discovery and analysis. My aim, therefore, is simple: to use autoethnography as a processual avenue to demonstrate how I used cocoa production in Ghana, and chocolate consumption around the world, to deepen understandings of larger issues around production and consumption, as well as the linkages between learning, society and sustainability. In doing so, I foreground my personal reflective experiences in using chocolate as a teaching resource. Those experiences are objectified as the focus of the research, and I become the subject of research.

A comparative study of the reproductive success of Theobroma Cacao L (malvaceae) undernatural and manual pollination

The reproductive successes under natural and manual pollination were assessed. Two cocoa farms around Bobiri Forest Reserve, in the Ejisu-Juabeng District Ghana were purposively selected. Fifteen percent of open flowers from five selected cocoa trees were subjected to manual-pollination and total exclusion. Ninety pods under natural pollination were compared with ninety pods under manually pollination. Proximate analysis was carried out to evaluate the macronutrients of cocoa pod and seeds produced under the two pollination modes. Results show that pollinator exclusion significantly decreased fruit set (df=2, X2 =12.5, P=0.00) and flower set (df= 2, F=25.2, P=0.00) (P=0.00). Pod weights and seed numbers significantly differed (V=0.049, F (4.49)=0.986, p<0.01, eta squared=0.049) irrespective of pod size and mode of pollination, however, there were individual differences. Weights of small pods did not differ (p>0.05) under the two pollination regimes, however, weights of medium size pods (p < 0.05) and that of the large pods (<0.05) produced under the two regimes of pollination differed. Number of beans and the size of pods did not differ under the two modes of pollination. Linear relationship existed between weight (y) and seed number (x) of individual pods: Y=18.56 + 0.016x; R2 =0.45. Macronutrients of pods and seeds did not differ (paired t test= 4.08, 29 d. f.; P=0.12) under the two pollination mode. The study concluded that natural pollination contributed to cocoa production.

Chemical and Skincare Property Characterization of the Main Cocoa Byproducts: Extraction Optimization by RSM Approach for Development of Sustainable Ingredients

Methylxanthines and polyphenols from cocoa byproducts should be considered for their application in the development of functional ingredients for food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical formulations. Different cocoa byproducts were analyzed for their chemical contents, and skincare properties were measured by antioxidant assays and anti-skin aging activity. Musty cocoa beans (MC) and second-quality cocoa beans (SQ) extracts showed the highest polyphenol contents and antioxidant capacities. In the collagenase and elastase inhibition study, the highest effect was observed for the SQ extract with 86 inhibition and 36% inhibition, respectively. Among cocoa byproducts, the contents of catechin and epicatechin were higher in the SQ extract, with 18.15 mg/100 g of sample and 229.8 mg/100 g of sample, respectively. Cocoa bean shells (BS) constitute the main byproduct due to their methylxanthine content (1085 mg of theobromine and 267 mg of caffeine/100 g of sample). Using BS, various influencing factors in the extraction process were investigated by response surface methodology (RSM), before scaling up separations. The extraction process developed under optimized conditions allows us to obtain almost 2 g/min and 0.2 g/min of total methylxanthines and epicatechin, respectively. In this way, this work contributes to the sustainability and valorization of the cocoa production chain.

Fermented Cocoa Beans (Theobroma cacao L) in Southeast Aceh District

One of the productions of the agricultural industry that has a fairly high foreign exchange value for our country is cocoa, but our cocoa production is still of low quality. To get good quality cocoa, good processing must be done. Fermentation of cocoa beans is one way to improve the quality of cocoa so that it can be sold in national and international markets. The purpose of this activity is to help cocoa farmers, especially in Southeast Aceh district, in improving the quality of cocoa production, so that the cocoa products of Southeast Aceh farmers can compete in trade both locally and abroad. The implementation of this activity is carried out through training to improve the quality of cocoa. There are several activities, namely: Sorting Cocoa, peeling cocoa pods, fermenting cocoa pods for 5 days and the last step is drying until the moisture content of cocoa pods reaches 7%. The result of this activity is to increase the knowledge of cocoa farmers in Southeast Aceh Regency in order to improve the quality of cocoa beans, so that cocoa sales can be accepted and compete in the market.

Cocoa Production in Ghana (1879-1976)

Cocoa production has been a major source of income and revenue to many citizens and the governor of Ghana respectively through time. Historically, although attributed to Tetteh Quarshie, records have shown that prior to Tetteh Quarshie’s achievement, the Dutch and Basel Missionaries had experimented with the crop in the Gold Coast. Since its introduction in the country, cocoa production has expanded and spread across all the regions in Ghana. The production of cocoa has affected every facet of development in the country since its inception and has once led Ghana to be world’s major exporter of the beans. Cocoa production in Ghana has gone beyond its agricultural and economic significance with its impacts felt across socio-cultural, religious and political life of Ghanaians. That notwithstanding, scholars have made partial effort at addressing the impact of cocoa production among Ghanaians between 1879 and 1976. Using a qualitative approach rooted in both primary and secondary sources, the current study sought to address the gap aforementioned by tracing the relationship between cocoa production and economics, politics and social-religious practices among Ghanaian between 1879 and 1976. Findings from the discourse revealed that though an agricultural product, cocoa can no longer be said to belong to that sphere alone. The product and its associated gains have permeated the entire life of Ghanaians since its inception.

Long-Term Patterns of Change in the Commercialisation of Cocoa in Ghana: Forest Frontiers and Technological Transformation

The commercialisation of cocoa production in Ghana has a long history dating back to the nineteenth century. The process of commercial development in cocoa is well documented and provides an alternative mode to contemporary models of commercialisation rooted in the adoption of modern technology and integration of farmers into markets. This working paper critically analyses frameworks for agricultural commercialisation in cocoa through intensification based on the uptake of synthetic inputs and hybrid seeds, by placing agricultural development within a broader framework of the historical development of the frontier in Ghana, and the related problems of ecological and economic crises. The study examines access to land, labour and technology, and how the complex interactions of scarcity of access to physical resources and labour influence farmers’ farming strategies and adoption of technology.

Profile of migrants for cocoa production and agronomic characteristics of cocoa farms in Western Côte d'Ivoire

The mountainous relief of the West of Côte d'Ivoire and the large savannahs next to forests didn’t make this zone very excellent for cocoa production. However, for the last decade, an important influx of farming population has been observed in this area. The objective of this study is to analyze the dynamics of the settlement of migrant farmers in the West region of Côte d’Ivoire, using the department of Biankouma as a case of study. So, individual surveys were conducted among 203 cocoa farmers from 15 villages in the department of Biankouma, who had migrated to this region, It was found that the majority of these farmers are natives of Côte d'Ivoire (38.3%) and non-natives (33.5%) from countries in the West Africa region. The migratory flow to this region is mainly internal, with 95.6% of farmers coming from 11 Districts and 55 localities in the country. While initially (i.e., before 1985), farmers came from towns near Duékoué (11.8%), these waves of movement from towns in neighboring districts (Bas-Sassandra and Sassandra-Marahoué) to the Western Region will experience their highest rates between 2002 and 2013. Observations drawn from our research findings support the hypothesis that the political-military crisis that the country has experienced has accentuated migratory flows of farmers for cocoa production in western Côte d'Ivoire and these migratory flows could be the cause of the degradation of forest cover in the Biankouma Department.