There are several international programmes aimed at the
development of these improved and sustainable methods of cocoa production.
Research organisations in France, Britain and the US have a common overall
objective but specialise each in specific aspects.
In recent years new techniques have been developed which may
eventually make significant contributions to the creation of improved varieties
resulting in higher yields. Collections of cocoa plant material, such as in
Trinidad, have been established and since the late 1970's, there have been
systematic efforts to analyse the plant material, mainly by observing
morphological traits.
The development of DNA marker technology revolutionises
this practice, allowing the genetic diversity in these collections to be better
understood. In addition to understanding biodiversity, these techniques can
also be used to identify characteristics in individual trees that have
increased resistance to diseases. As an example, a collaborative project
between research institutes in France and producing countries is identifying
trees that have increased resistance to black pod, a major fungal disease of
cocoa. These trees can then be used in conventional breeding programmes, or
clonally propagated, getting higher yielding trees to the farmers, to give them
a more sustainable future.
Integrating all these new developments into a modern
cocoa-breeding programme will be a major contribution to improving cocoa
production.
