Description

About Cocoa:

Africa and Nigeria
Later the explosion in demand brought about by chocolate's affordability required yet more cacao to be cultivated. Amelonado cacao from Brazil was planted in Principe in ***2, Sao Tomé in ***0 and Fernando Po in ***4, then in Nigeria in ***4 and Ghana in ***9. There was already a small plantation in Bonny, eastern Nigeria established by Chief Iboningi in ***7

What is Cocoa: The dried and partially fermented fatty seeds of the cacao tree are used to make chocolate and cocoa powder
Cocoa is Sabah's fourth largest agricultural crop with about *5,**0 ha planted. Tawau has almost *2,**0 ha.
Cocoa beans are also processed to produce various medicines, skin care products, chocolate and other foodstuffs.
Cocoa was first planted in Sabah in ***0s. Today it is found in Tawau, Sandakan and Kudat.

There are about **0 cocoa beans per kilogram.
The Cocoa Tree (Theobroma Cacao) is from South America. It was first discovered in Mexico where the Spaniards found A drinking 'choclati', where the word 'chocolate' comes from. It means 'Drink of the Gods'
The products of this tree - chocolate, cocoa and cocoa butter - are vital for the economics of countries like Ghana, Brazil, Malaysia and Sri Lanka.
Use of Cocoa

Uses of Cocoa: Cocoa seeds are processed into cocoa powder for use mainly to make chocolate and cocoa butter. Cocoa pulp can be eaten fresh or made into cocoa juice.
In Malaysia, uses of cocoa are many. It may be used in cakes, creams, drinks, toppings. Hotel Emas of Sabah created a series featured cocoa-based food delicacies such as:
1) crystal prawns with chocolate mayonnaise source,
2) crispy cocoa chicken,
3) cocoa sotong roll,
4) cocoa fish slice,
5) cocoa fried noodle,
6) cocoa beef
7) cocoa fried rice.
8) cocoa snacks - chocolate prawn roll, chocolate ondei-ondei
9) fresh cocoa juice
Besides its use as a food, scientists discovered cocoa is beneficial for health. Cocoa has twice the anti-cancer antioxidants of red wine, and up to three times those found in green tea.

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Growing cocoa

History:

Growing Cocoa:


The genus Theobroma originated millions of years ago in South America, to the east of the Andes. Theobroma has been divided into twenty-two species of which T. cacao is the most widely known. It is the Maya who have provided tangible evidence of cacao as a domesticated crop. Archaeological evidence in Costa Rica indicates that cacao was drunk by Maya traders as early as **0 BC. The Aztec culture, dominant in Mesoamerica from the fourteenth century to the Conquest, placed much emphasis on the sanctity of cacao.
The first outsider to drink chocolate was Christopher Columbus, who reached Nicaragua in ***2 searching for a sea route to the spices of the East. But it was Hernan Cortés, leader of an expedition in ***9 to the Aztec empire, who returned to Spain in ***8 bearing the Aztec recipe for xocoatl (chocolate drink) with him. The drink was initially received unenthusiastically and it was not until sugar was added that it became a popular drink in the Spanish courts.

Caribbean and South America
There were attempts to satisfy Spanish domestic demand by planting cacao in Spanish territories like the Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Haiti but these initially came to nothing. More successful were the Spanish Capuchin friars who grew criollo cacao in Ecuador in about ***5. The rush by European, mercantile nations to claim land to cultivate cacao began in earnest in the late seventeenth century. France introduced cacao to Martinique and St Lucia (***0), the Dominican Republic (***5), Brazil (***7), Guianas (***4) and Grenada (***4); England had cacao growing in Jamaica by ***0; and, prior to this the Dutch had taken over plantations in Curaçao when they seized the island in ***0.

Africa and Nigeria
Later the explosion in demand brought about by chocolate's affordability required yet more cacao to be cultivated. Amelonado cacao from Brazil was planted in Principe in ***2, Sao Tomé in ***0 and Fernando Po in ***4, then in Nigeria in ***4 and Ghana in ***9. There was already a small plantation in Bonny, eastern Nigeria established by Chief Iboningi in ***7, as well as other plantations run by the Coker family established by the Christian missions. The seeds planted in Ghana were brought from Fernando Po by Tetteh Quarshie or his apprentice Adjah, after previous attempts by the Dutch (***5) and the Swiss (***3) to introduce cocoa in Ghana had failed. In Cameroon, cocoa was introduced during the colonial period of ***5 to ***9.

Where is Cocoa Produced?
Cocoa is produced in countries within *0oN and *0oS of the Equator where the climate is appropriate for growing cocoa trees. The largest producing countries are Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana and Indonesia.

Climate Conditions
The natural habitat of the cocoa tree is in the lower storey of the evergreen rainforest and climatic factors, particularly temperature and rainfall, are important in encouraging optimum growth.

Temperature
Cocoa plants respond well to relatively high temperatures with a maximum annual average of ****2 degrees C and a minimum average of ****1 degrees C.

Rainfall
Variations in the yield of cocoa trees from year to year are affected more by rainfall than by any other climatic factor. Trees are very sensitive to a soil water deficiency. Rainfall should be plentiful and well distributed through the year. An annual rainfall level of between 1,**0mm and 2,**0mm is generally preferred. Dry spells where rainfall is less than **0mm per month should not exceed three months.

Humidity
A hot and humid atmosphere is essential for the optimum development of cocoa trees. In cocoa producing countries relative humidity is generally high, often as much as **0% during the day, falling to ****0% during the night.

Light and shade
The cocoa tree will make optimum use of any light available and has been traditionally grown under shade. It's natural environment is the Amazonian forest which provides natural shade trees. Shading is indispensable in a cocoa tree's early years.

Soil Conditions
Cocoa is grown in a wide variety of soil types.
Physical properties - Cocoa needs a soil containing coarse particles to leave free space for roots and with a reasonable quantity of nutrients to a depth of 1.5m to allow the development of a good root system. Below that level it is desirable not to have impermeable material so that excess water can drain away. Cocoa will withstand waterlogging for short periods but excess water should not linger. The cocoa tree is sensitive to a lack of water so the soil must have both water retention properties and good drainage.
Chemical properties - The chemical properties of the topsoil are most important as there are a large number of roots here for absorbing nutrients. Cocoa can grow in soils with a pH in the range of 5.**7.5. It can therefore cope with both acid and alkaline soil, but excessive acidity (pH 4.0 and below) or alkalinity (pH 8.0 and above) must be avoided. Cocoa is tolerant of acid soils provided the nutrient content is high enough. The soil should also have a high content of organic matter, 3.5% in the top *5 centimetres of soil. Soils for cocoa must have certain anionic and cationic balances. Exchangeable bases in the soil should amount to at least *5% of the total cation exchange capacity (CEC) otherwise nutritional problems are likely. The optimum total nitrogen/total phosphorus ratio should be around 1.5.

Cocoa tree varieties
Criollos dominated the market until the middle of the eighteenth century but today only a few, if any, pure Criollo trees remain.
Forastero is a large group containing cultivated, semi-wild and wild populations of which the Amelonado populations are the most extensively planted. Large areas of Brazil and West Africa are planted with Amelonado. Amelonado varieties include, Comum in Brazil, West African Amelonado in Africa, Cacao Nacional in Ecuador and Matina or Ceylan in Costa Rica and Mexico. Recently large plantations throughout the world used Upper Amazon hybrids.
The Trinitario populations are considered to belong to the Forasteros although they are descended from a cross between Criollo and Forastero. Trinitario planting started in Trinidad and spread to Venezuela and then was planted in Ecuador, Cameroon, Samoa, Sri Lanka, Java and Papua New Guinea.

Breeding
Cocoa is raised from seed. Seeds will germinate and produce good plants when taken from pods not more than *5 days under ripe.
Cuttings - Tree cuttings are taken with between two and five leaves and one or two buds. The leaves are cut in half and the cutting placed in a pot under polythene until roots begin to grow.
Budding - A bud is cut from a tree and placed under a flap of bark on another tree. The budding patch is then bound with raffia, waxed tape of clear plastic to prevent moisture loss. When the bud is growing the old tree above it is cut off.
Marcotting - A strip of bark is removed from a branch and the area covered in sawdust and a polythene sheet. The area will produce roots and the branch can then be chopped off and planted.

Categories of Cocoa Beans
The world cocoa market distinguishes between two broad categories of cocoa beans: "fine or flavour" cocoa beans, and "bulk" or "ordinary" cocoa beans. As a generalisation, fine or flavour cocoa beans are produced from Criollo or Trinitario cocoa-tree varieties, while bulk cocoa beans come from Forastero trees. There are, however, known exceptions to this generalisation. Nacional trees in Ecuador, considered to be Forastero-type trees, produce fine or flavour cocoa. On the other hand, Cameroon cocoa beans, produced by Trinitario-type trees and whose cocoa powder has a distinct and sought-after red colour, are classified as bulk-cocoa beans.
The share of fine or flavour cocoa in the total world production of cocoa beans is just under 5% per annum. Virtually all major activity over the past five decades has involved bulk cocoa.
Health and Nutrition:

Health Advantage
In the past, chocolate has been appreciated as a high-calorie food to boost energy, for example for athletes and soldiers. Recently, more and more research has been conducted on the health and nutritional attributes of cocoa and chocolate. Research findings indicate that some components in cocoa help to prevent cardiovascular disease and reduce the risk of cancer.
Foods rich in cocoa appear to reduce blood pressure but drinking green and black tea may not, according to an analysis of previously published research. These positive findings seem, however, often to be overshadowed by the blame on chocolate as a cause of obesity. Certain people readily classify chocolate as "junk food" because of its high calorie content.

As attention to the health and nutritional aspects of cocoa and chocolate has continued to increase, the ICCO secretariat took the initiative, through the support of its Council, to become involved in the on-going debate, with the aim to convey to the public an objective picture of the impact of cocoa and chocolate consumption on the health and nutritional status of consumers. As a result, the secretariat produced a first draft of an "Inventory of Health and Nutritional Attributes of Cocoa and Chocolate", as well as a first draft of an Action Programme on the Health and Nutritional Aspects of Cocoa and Chocolate.
The inventory elaborates on the evidence of the cardiovascular benefits of cocoa. These benefits are not only due to the fats in cocoa (cocoa butter), but, even more importantly, because cocoa beans contain a large number of phytochemicals. These are physiologically active compounds found in plants, for example grapes, apple, tea, fruits, vegetables, etc. One group of these compounds is called flavonoids. There is a growing body of evidence about the health benefits of cocoa flavonoids.

They are powerful anti-oxidants and are believed to help the body’s cells resist damage by free radicals, which are formed by numerous processes including when the body’s cells utilize oxygen for energy. Laboratory and human studies have indicated that cocoa flavonoids can inhibit the oxidation of the low-density lipoprotein (LDL-cholesterol) associated with heart disease. There is also emerging evidence which suggests that cocoa and chocolate may be able to contribute to reducing the risk of certain types of cancer. This beneficial property also originates from the phytochemicals in cocoa, other than flavonoids.
With regard to the first draft of a Programme of Action on the Health and Nutritional Aspects of Cocoa and Chocolate, it was suggested organizing an international conference at which the latest research on the health and nutritional aspects of cocoa and chocolate consumption would be presented.
ICCO Annual Report ******5
Animal Consumption:

Chocolate is a food product with appeal not only to the human population, but to many different animals as well. However, chocolate and cocoa contain a high level of xanthines, specifically theobromine and to a much lesser extent caffeine, that are detrimental to the health of many animals, including dogs and cats. While these compounds have desirable effects in humans, they cannot be efficiently metabolized in many animals and can lead to cardiac and nervous system problems, and if consumed in high quantities, even lead to death. However, since the beginning of the *1st century, some cocoa derivatives with a low concentration of xanthines have been designed by specialized industry to be suitable for pet consumption, enabling the pet food industry to offer animal-safe chocolate and cocoa flavored products.[*7][*8] It results in products with a high concentration of fiber and proteins, while maintaining low concentrations of sugar and other carbohydrates, thus enabling it to be used to create healthy functional cocoa pet products.