Cocoa is a crop that requires a lot of care, and very specific agro-ecological conditions. However, to maximize production and profit many farmers apply chemical pesticides and fertilizers to their trees. In the short run these applications will indeed increase yields. But over the longer term they destroy both farm, farmer and farming communities.

As CocoaMasters we think that cocoa can be produced in a more sustainable, environmentally friendly manner. The range of interventions needed to do so goes from the development of highly specific organic pesticides, to the radical redesign of entire farming systems.

We are already experimenting with a farming concept that is based on organic soil management, and which eliminates the need for chemical fertilizers. The development of an organic pesticide to combat the most threatening disease in our sector – black pod disease – is more challenging. However, this too, remains one of our key goals.