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A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to speak with two truly inspiring members of the Cocoa Research Centre (CRC) at The UWI: Professor Pathmanathan Umaharan, its head, and Dr Darin Sukha, its food technologist. I met them 16 years ago, when I started working at the university as editor of its paper, UWI TODAY.
I had been as much impressed by their brilliance as I was by their dedication to developing the cocoa industry sustainably and holistically, using green concepts and a philosophy of community-building that was not the most common approach in these parts.
The unassuming Professor Umaharan is an acclaimed geneticist, and his work spans a range that goes far beyond the world of cocoa. Dr Sukha is no less globally recognised for his work in the realm of chocolate (his palate is insured!). Together with the family of staff at the CRC, they have provided remarkable service to this country, despite limited resources.
My recent conversations with them were first, when they were launching a suite of dark chocolate bars called Spirit, and then when they invited me to take a look at the newly opened chocolate factory at the university’s Farm Road premises.
There is a growing complex of buildings, comprising a model cocoa orchard, teaching facilities and labs, which are part of the International Fine Cocoa Innovation Centre (IFCIC).
My fascination with the work they’ve done over the years has always been mixed with disappointment and bemusement by the way their phenomenal efforts have not been persuasive enough to resuscitate the cocoa industry, despite perennial discussions about diversifying the economy.
I genuinely do not understand why a country that has so many unique resources—in our creative arts, our music, our sport, such a rich culture woven out of the beautiful tapestry that came from our cosmopolitan character—continues to rely on one economic staple. But I don’t wish to digress.
Our Trinitario cocoa beans have a history that is entirely aligned with our past of assimilating cultures. In 1525, the Spanish first planted the Criollo variety, but when that was destroyed in 1727, the Forastero variety from Venezuela was introduced.
Out of these two, the Trinitario hybrid emerged. It had vested itself with the best qualities of the original breeds—the fine flavour of Criollo, and the hardiness and vigour of the Forastero.
The cocoa industry took off, with mainly medium- and small-holding farmers owning and running their estates, and between 1866 and 1920 it dominated the economy. But a combination of factors led to the decimation of the industry: The Great Depression of the late 1920s and the dreaded Witches’ Broom disease shut down most production.
Cocoa, once the bubbling cauldron of national wealth, gave way to sugar and oil.
The country’s vast plantations were abandoned; labourers scattered. Except for the mostly small and a few medium-sized estates which have survived, by dint of the hard work of the owners, the industry has dwindled. From producing on 90,000 hectares in the 1920s, only 3,500 hectares are now cultivated.
It’s not that efforts have not been made to restore the industry—the Cocoa Research Scheme in 1931 and the Cocoa Board in 1945 were set up to facilitate rehabilitation.
There have been peaks and troughs, but nothing to take advantage of the local Trinitario, whose presence has ranked Trinidad and Tobago among a handful of countries branded for their fine-flavoured cocoa.
Frances Bekele, with a PhD in crop science, is a cacao germplasm specialist. In 2004, she wrote a paper, The History of Cocoa Production in Trinidad and Tobago, which I mention because it is worth reading for anyone interested in helping to revive this sleeping giant.
In the 1940s the government offered generous subsidies, but they were equally generously abused. Planting materials, which had been readily available, declined to 330,000 plants by 1981.
Today, the state still attempts to subsidise the industry by providing planting materials to farmers. But this effort is proving to be more of a hindrance to the rebuilding process.
With a monopoly on these plants, which they sell to farmers at $2.50, although it costs $75 to bring them up to a year-old state, they are actually creating a disincentive to investment.
The state’s capacity is only around 20-30,000 plants annually. This is barely enough to supply a medium-sized farm. Private sector interests say they can produce plants at $20 each, but in effect, the State is in competition with them, so it is not feasible to invest.
Additionally, given the long hiatus from farming large estates, we have lost the capacity to manage such enterprises. A small farm might be 5-10 acres; farmers have neither the resources nor the capacity for a larger scale. They need business models and management services.
I am reporting what I was told by Professor Umaharan and Dr Sukha about the current state of affairs. As part of its commitment to developing the industry, the CRC is willing and able to help develop business models for farmers at every scale.
They are prepared to buy beans once they are of the appropriate quality. With the chocolate factory, they can process them and transform them into all manner of chocolate goodies. It’s attractive. But I cannot imagine how it will achieve the scale required for a real revival if the state does not allow the private sector to dance in the cocoa, too.
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Vaneisa Baksh is a columnist with the Trinidad Express, an editor and a cricket historian. She is the author of a biography of Sir Frank Worrell.
