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Cocoa Facts: The History and Production of Cocoa
- The Maya were the first to domesticate cocoa. Archaeological evidence indicates that cocoa was drunk by Maya traders as early as 400 B.C.
- Roughly two-thirds of cocoa bean production is used to make chocolate and one-third to make cocoa powder.
- Today, between 70 to 90 percent of world cocoa production is grown by smallholders.
- When grown on small plots, cocoa is the most environment-friendly of all the tropical cash crops, as it requires some shade and forest cover and needs few inputs.
- Cocoa trees, which are usually productive for 25 years, take three to five years to yield a crop.
- Ghana is the world's second largest producer of cocoa. Smallholder farmers produce almost all cocoa grown in the country.
- Cocoa was first planted in Ghana in 1879. Today, 3.2 million workers are engaged in cocoa production in Ghana, out of a total of 14 million cocoa farmers worldwide.
(Source: International Cocoa Organization, www.icco.org)
- In response to anecdotal reports of slavery on cocoa plantations in Côte d'Ivoire, the International Labor Organization is working with the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture to survey working conditions on cocoa farms. The investigation continues and the extent of slavery has yet to be determined. ("Chocolate industry accepts responsibility for child labor practices," by Sumana Chatterjee, Knight Ridder Newspapers, September 30, 2001)
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