Chocolates Will Soon Get Extinct

Do you know that more than half the chocolate produced is eaten in North America and Europe? Switzerland is supposed to be the ‘sweetest tooth’ in the world with more than 8kg per capita consumed. There could be no more chocolate by 2040, thanks to the #globalwarming cacao plants are soon slated to disappear.?

Cacao Story?

Cacao trees known as the ‘food of the gods’ is responsible for delivering the best gift to mankind “The Yummy Chocolate”. Native to South America, these trees produce thousands of flowers every year that produce fruits which contain 30 to 60 seeds each. These are the very seeds that are processed into chocolates, our favourite treat. Cacao trees grow within a narrow strip of rainforest land roughly 20 degrees north and south of the equator. Normally in these areas the temperature, rain and humidity remain constant all through the year. Half of the world’s chocolate comes from two countries in West Africa – Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana. These tropical fruit-bearing trees are on the verge of extinction on account of the #climatecrisis.?

Why is Cacao dying??

In order to produce cacao fruit, the flowers need pollination and only 10 to 20 % get pollinated, leaving 90 % to die within hours of opening. The reason cited is agricultural intensification and #climatechange. Besides these trees can survive only within 10 degrees of either side of the equator with high humidity and heavy rainfall. With rise in temperatures and decreased rainfall, these trees are expected to die out almost 33% worldwide. If these trees go extinct, chocolates will disappear, and the cacao farmers will go unemployed all over the globe. By 2050, these chocolate growing regions will move into the mountain terrains which are preserved for wildlife due to the rise in temperatures.

Cocoa the main ingredient of chocolate bars has driven deforestation in West Africa. The destruction of tropical forests across the globe releases more carbon dioxide back to the atmosphere than the entire European Union. It has been said that if deforestation were a country, it would be the third largest emitter of CO2 in the world.?

Protecting our favourite treat?

There is a need to preserve and restore forests. The global cocoa and chocolate industry has joined hands with West African governments in the Cocoa & Forests Initiative. This multistakeholder partnership tries to address the deforestation issues. Improving forest governance, reducing risks of deforestation and boosting farmer livelihoods and strengthening the sustainability of the cocoa supply chain are few of the approaches adopted. There is a need to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from #deforestation and enhance carbon stocks through sustainable forest management. The first steps would be to scaling land approaches to end forest degradation, improving cocoa yields and building a #climateresilient cocoa #supplychain.?

The action plan spells out the following activities?

• Forest protection?

Agro-forestry, Traceability in the supplychain and #Geomapping to keep a track on the deforested risks and ensure cocoa is sourced legally from farms outside protected areas.?

• Sustainable cocoa production?

Empowering the cocoa farmers with the best sustainablepractices for effective cocoa yields using less land.?

• Community Engagement?

Forest preservation and restoration activities involving women and youth?

• Climate smart agriculture?

Climate smart production techniques with increased access to finance and farmer training for #sustainableproduction.?

• Satellite monitoring?

Use of satellite monitoring to track illegal deforestation.?

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#Deforestation is a complex social, economic and environmental challenge and requires significant understanding and trust between the stakeholders and effective alignment with policies. As the adage goes, “Judge each day not by the harvest but by the seeds you plant”, all the stakeholders need to join this complex journey and plant the right seeds to nurture a #sustainablecocoa landscape. We need to keep both the chocolate and planet alive!