Mapping terroirs and yeasts

Environmental conditions, cultivation and postharvest practices can vary greatly between cocoa growing areas. These factors are hence likely to generate different aroma compounds in the produced cocoa. Technological field experiments will be conducted in different pedoclimatic areas to analyse determinants of the aroma component based on research developed within the framework of the research priority devoted to the assessment of cocoa growing systems (link). Cocoa samples will be collected, fermented and processed into chocolate prior to sensory analysis.

Assessing the effects of agroforestry and organic cropping practices on cocoa quality

Does the presence of trees or organic cocoa stand management enhance cocoa quality? Confirmation of the positive impacts of such practices could be a lever for promoting cocoa produced in agroforestry and/or organic systems.

Research will therefore be carried out to compare the effects of two cocoa cropping systems (unshaded and agroforestry) and two farm management methods (conventional and organic) on the organoleptic quality of cocoa and derivatives in chocolate products. The analyses will focus on the effects of fat and sugar content, as well as on the volatility and in vivo aromatic perception of chocolate.

Organizing to produce sustainable and traceable cocoa

Little information is currently available on initiatives under way to produce sustainable and traceable cocoa and the outcomes have been insufficiently assessed. Yet cocoa traders and processors, as well as professional organizations in collaboration with various partners, are developing new forms of coordination (sustainability labels, fair trade, functional upgrading, etc.).

Production contracts also secure the cocoa supply quality and impede side-selling. Some organizations even manage to promote the geographical origin of their cocoa, in partnership with chocolate manufacturers.

The goal will therefore be to assess and analyse these innovative forms of coordination so as to encourage cocoa farmers to adopt more sustainable practices, strengthen their bargaining power in the sector and/or improve their livelihoods.

Assessing the effects of new coordination strategies on cocoa growers’ livelihoods

How do certain organizational innovations impact cocoa farmers’ livelihoods in terms of income, health, life expectancy, or schooling of their children? The Cocoa4Future project will address this issue partly on the basis of the sustainable livelihood conceptual framework and the five capital dimensions (natural, human, financial, physical and social). These dimensions are sometimes even mainstreamed in standards set by cocoa sector stakeholders, while also being ethical cocoa quality attributes.