Romancing the Cacao
The resurgence of cacao in Meta, Colombia, gets a boost of confidence through a USAID-facilitated public-private partnership and makes premium cacao a reality.
When Colombia held Chocoshow, its first national cacao trade show, at the end of 2018, growers readied their finest cacaos to compete for recognition and fame on the nation’s stage. A victory for any lot of high-grade cacao would be a welcome boost to a sector constantly struggling with price fluctuations.
Meta-based cacao growers’ association Asopcari was prepared. After two years of fundamental changes in how its producers harvest and process cacao, the association came to Chocoshow with high hopes. In the end, it walked away with one gold and one silver medal, a triumphant showing for a group of 90-plus growers scattered about the Ariari river valley.
“We are great at producing cacao, but we’re not very good at business,” claims Asopcari’s president, Edilberto Lopez.
The growers have not always been great at production, Lopez admits, but it is not for lack of trying. The history of cacao in Meta is one of success and tragedy. By the mid-eighties, cacao was a cash crop for thousands of farmers, and annual production peaked at 5,000 tons. By 2000, illicit crops had essentially gutted Meta’s cacao future, destroying more than 7.5 million trees and leaving families in a far more vulnerable state.
In 2000, Asopcari was created and started with 300 hectares of quality cacao clones. In 2004, Meta cacaoteros produced a meager 400 tons of cacao. For Asopcari and others, it was going to be an uphill battle. Since then, the efforts to recuperate cacao cultivation in Meta have been slow. For more than a decade, much of Meta was off limits due to conflict, the drug trade, and an overwhelming distrust of anyone and everyone, making it especially difficult to establish sustainable marketing channels.
“We lived in a constant state of terror,” says Lopez.
To make matters worse, the government delivered little necessary technical assistance to improve growing and harvesting techniques. Farmers soon lost track of which trees were improved varieties and bundled all cacao together, regardless of origin or type.
Fine Flavor and Aroma
In the wake of the government’s historic peace deal with the FARC, signed in 2016, USAID has sharpened its focus on cacao, both as a driver of rural economies and an opportunity for cultivating licit crops. In 2017, USAID facilitated a public-private partnership to consolidate the participation of Meta’s regional leadership in the cacao value chain and to gain commitments from national-level actors, including the Colombian Agriculture Institute and the National Learning Service.
The partnership includes two growers’ associations, more than 100 growers, from the Ariari river basin (including Asopcari), creates farmer field schools that teach producers improved techniques for post-harvest management, and provides growers with access to new technologies that add value to their product.
Recently, the partnership financed a comprehensive study identifying the thousands of improved varieties of cacao first planted by the government nearly 20 years ago. With this information, Asopcari members began dividing their harvest, separating improved varieties from the local criollo variety. Instead of fermenting the entire harvest in one batch, they began to treat improved varieties on their own, betting on an overall better product.
“These methods are the only way to achieve premium, fine aroma cacaos at this point. It is like making a sancocho [traditional stew] without the best ingredients — it will not amount to much. Meta has a lot of varieties with winning profiles, but if you can’t identify and select the best materials, you won’t get a premium final product.”
-Carlos Torres, cacao expert and trainer in the partnership.
Marketing Quality
Following up on its commitment to promoting premium cacao, Asopcari then opened two purchasing centers, giving all cacao farmers in the region the chance to get a better price for their product. The main center located in Granada, is equipped with the facilities and tools to properly gauge the quality of the cacao before purchasing. From there, Asopcari is marketing its premium cacao to the world over and has already exported two tons of premium cacao to Italy-based equitable-trading cooperative Scami Sosteniblii. Asopcari sold the premium cacao at a price up to 40% higher than domestic market prices, US$2.75 instead of US$2.00 per kilogram.
The Resurgence
Meta’s regional government has made the single biggest contribution to the partnership thus far, investing approximately US$40,000 (COP100 million), in part, to certify 11 cacao farms in good agriculture practices (GAP), basic environmental and operational precepts for the production of safe, hygienic fruit and vegetables. GAP certificates not only improve hygiene and farming practices but also give buyers more confidence in the product they are purchasing. In addition, the majority of international buyers will not consider purchasing products without GAP certification.
“We had tried to complete the requirements for GAP certification before, but we just didn’t have the resources to implement everything,” says Lopez. “Through this partnership, we took the opportunity to fundamentally change our farms and methods, and now we are known throughout Colombia. Now we need to replicate this success on international markets.”
In the coming year, USAID’s role as facilitator will taper, but thanks to the partnership, Lopez and his colleagues are convinced they can sustain the quality. In a recent technical roundtable held among partners, the Colombia Cacao Federation guaranteed another year of technical assistance for all GAP-certified farms.
Meta’s cacao is on the rebound. Its cultivated area of cacao has steadily expanded from 1,500 hectares in 2000 to more than 5,000 hectares today, and cacao growers are rising to the call of an expanding demand for premium cacao. In 2019, Asopcari is already preparing for its next export of premium cacao. This year, its farmers expect to sell four tons of cacao to its new Italian client.
“The USAID model works because it requires the growers to make contributions, and real change only comes when farmers are motivated to improve and not just receive donations.”
-Edilberto López, President of Asopcari.
“Before, we were not coordinating our work. Investments were made and forgotten; there was no follow up. With USAID, we have been doing follow up and strengthening farmer associations. The Colombian Agriculture Institute’s presence has been fundamental in the development of these partnerships, because the farmers see that the government has a strong presence and work together.”
-Alberto Castro, Meta’s secretary of agriculture
