3.4.2 Organic Cocoa

Following a number of “food scares” and consumer concern over food safety, organic cocoa production has enjoyed substantial growth since the beginning of the century [1], but tempered perhaps by the post 2008 recession. 

Where certification is successfully implemented, the farmer benefits from elevated crop prices, although some argue that production may include cocoa that is “organic by default” - where farmers simply don’t use inputs such as fertilisers and pesticides (often with low productivity) – rather than adhering to the principles of organic farming.

At present, there are several interpretations of organic agriculture in use in different regions of the world, reflecting different approaches (agricultural/technical, economic or scientific and philosophical). 

A general definition was formulated by the Codex Alimentarius in 1999: “Organic agriculture is a holistic production management system which promotes and enhances agro-ecosystem health, including biodiversity, biological cycles, and soil biological activity. It emphasizes the use of management practices in preference to the use of off-farm inputs, taking into account that regional conditions require locally adapted systems. This is accomplished by using, where possible, agronomic, biological, and mechanical methods, as opposed to using synthetic materials, to fulfil any specific function within the system”. 

Most certifiers are affiliated to the International Foundation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM: www.ifoam.org). 

IFOAM promotes four principles of organic agriculture:

1. health: of soil, plant, animal, human and planet;
2. ecology: working with systems and cycles;
3. fairness: characterized by equity, respect, justice and stewardship;
4. care: working in a precautionary and responsible manner.

Organic production is not uncontroversial, with arguments against [2] including the damage done by extensive (land use) agriculture to whole ecosystems: rather than the “sustainable intensification” [3] needed to feed a growing human population and limited remaining agricultural land. 

In addition, organic agriculture is only rarely ‘pesticide- free’, even though proponents state that they are concerned about substances which are ‘bio-accumulative’ or ‘very persistent in the environment’. Notoriously, copper fungicides continue to be permitted, and in areas where cocoa diseases such as Phytophthora megakarya predominate, crop loss could be very severe for organic producers that rely solely on cultural controls alone. 

Being elemental, copper is not degradable and builds up in the soil with continued use [4]. Limited studies to date have not identified deleterious effects of medium-term exposure to soil organisms, [5] although a Brazilian study indicated that high concentrations of this element might adversely affect the important leguminous shade cover tree Erythrina fusca.

It can be argued that, in contrast, some synthetic chemicals used by conventional producers are safer to apply (copper compounds vary in toxicity between class I to III) and degradable in the environment [6]. In the EU, it was proposed that the use of copper should be below 8 kg/ha/year after 2002, and the IFOAM suggested that it should be withdrawn altogether after 2010. 

However, ‘organic’ farmers still spray copper, but now usually to a limit of 6 kg/ha/year. This probably represents a maximum of 4 sprays per season at normal application rates; the use of copper fungicides is discussed further in section 4.5.2.

Cocoa that is certified as being ‘organic’ carries a substantial price premium. Worldwide, there are several systems and marks for certifying organic produce, for example:

The ‘Euro-leaf’ logo (bottom right) became compulsory from 1 July 2009 for pre-packaged organic food produced in any of the 27 EU Member States. 

Within the EU, the logo bearing the words “Organic Farming” or translations thereof (bottom left and centre) can be used on a voluntary basis by producers whose systems and products have been found to be satisfactory. 

EU Regulation No 889/2008 lays down detailed rules for implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 – which repeals and replaces Regulation (EC) No 2092/91, in order to define more explicitly the objectives, principles and rules applicable to organic production, and in order to contribute to transparency and consumer confidence, as well as to a harmonised perception of the concept of organic production [7].