Cocoa

THE ORIGINS OF COCOA
CULTIVATION IN MALAYSIA
Part 1
Development and Economic
Considerations of Cocoa Industry

Three decades ago, cocoa production was
dominated by Ghana, the Ivory Coast,
Nigeria and Brazil. Only in a decade ago
Malaysia was recognized as the third
largest producer after the Ivory coast and
Brazil.
This is a consequence of the development
policy of export-led growth and the role of
the state in providing necessary forms of
encouragement and technical
assistance…

Three phases :
in corresponding to:
i. changes in commodity prices,
ii. the investment climate and
iii. the nature of political control in
Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah &
Sarawak

1st phase (1880s – mid 1940s)
as experimental crop, overshadowed by
rubber and palm oil.
2nd phase(1948 – early 1960s)
as a corollary to the policy of greater
economic diversification.
3rd phase (late 1960s – onwards)
as an important commercial crop after oil
palm and rubber

The First Phase
• Cocoa (Theobroma cocoa) was probably
introduced by the Dutch in the 1700s.
• Its earliest presence in 1778, found in the
garden of a Portuguese widow in Melaka.
• Experimented as commercial crop by
European planters in Melaka, Penang,
Singapore, Perak and N. Sembilan.

• In Sabah, it was planted by natives, two
or three groves of cocoa on the
Segaluid River in 1886.
• In 1922, government of Sabah grew
cocoa on experimental garden in
Sandakan.
• In Sarawak, there were no further
mention of cocoa.

• In Malay Peninsula, due to the lower
prices of rubber, led to some rubber
companies experimenting with newly
available cocoa seedling on old rubber
areas earmarked for replanting.
• Trial planting began at Temerloh and
Kuala Lipis (Pahang) and Serdang
(Selangor) with seeds from Sri Lanka
(forestero and nicaraguan varieties).

• In 1934,at Federal Experimental
Station (FES) in Serdang (Selangor),
trinitario was planted in small test
plot.
• In 1937, the DOA established new
test plots in FES at Cheras, Kuala
Lipis and Temerloh with seed from
Java, Sabah and Medan.

• In summary, during first phase, cocoa
was only minor importance to the
economy because it was
overshadowed by more profitable
‘industrial crops’ rubber and oil palm.
• Cocoa was still undergoing trials and
required more care and intention.

The Second Phase
• The initiative was taken by colonial
government through private sector to
boost the cultivation of cocoa.
• It was a consequence of uncertain
long-term prospects for tin and rubber
industries; the strong demand for
cocoa and misgivings about cocoa
supply from the traditional producing
countries.

• Provided with London finance market
and investment from Cadbury’s
contributed to the expansion of cocoa
industry.
• As an integral part of the colonial
government’s strategy after WW II.

• DOA conducted a survey of all cocoa
trees to ascertain the total planting
material in the country.
• Revealed the adequate number of
trees to form the basis for crop
expansion.

• There was a feasibility study of cocoa
in Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak done
by a researcher from East Malling
Research Station, E.E. Cheeseman.
• Cheeseman’s report played an
important role in the colonial
government’s diversification strategy
and as a guideline for potential
investors.

His report were summarized below:-
1.Federation of Malaya was the most
important of the three territories for
cocoa cultivation because of its larger
population, its well-developed
transportation system and the
existence of the plantation company
structure with its capital resources and
supervisory staff which could
supplement the efforts of the DOA.

2. Cocoa was suitable as a smallholding
crop and could serve very usefully as the
cash crop basis for land settlement
schemes in sparsely-populated areas. But,
because of the farmers had limited land; it
was dangerous to substitute cocoa for
rubber (their main source of income).
Cocoa needs technical knowledge and
provision of central fermentaries.

3.In the Fifth Division of Sarawak was
the most promising region for cocoa.
4. North Borneo (Sabah) had a first
class andesite soils which could be
used for cocoa cultivation. Cocoa also
could be grown in a compact block
compared to scattered districts in
Malaya.

5. The Borneo territories had other
disadvantage compared to Malaya-they
had small populations and were
hampered poor transportation
systems.
6. All three territories were
handicapped by the shortage of
planting material although the Borneo
territories were worse-off than Malaya
in this respect.

• This report was well received by the
government and was followed by
intensified research into:
1. breeding and selection of superior
planting material
2. trial planting on agricultural
stations
3. plantation throughout the country

• Received well respond from private sector,
example;
1. Harrison and Crosfield, Cadbury
Brothers and Colonial Development
Corporation formed a company known
as Malayan Cocoa Limited to plant
cocoa.
Benefit from this formation : brought together
local plantation interests, an experienced
manufacturer and the colonial government’s
development agency.

2. Guthries in conjunction with
Rowntrees (chocolate manufacturer)
inter-planted cocoa with oil palm.
3. Malayan Cocoa joined forces with
Van Houten and Zoon NV in 1955 to
form the United Cocoa Development
Company Limited.

• This phase also saw the promotion of
cocoa as a smallholder crop.
• In the interests of a huge Malay
peasantry, it was essential to
emphasize rural development and
increase the take-off from the
backward peasant sector to the
advanced plantation sector.

• With the direct intervention by
government, land settlement schemes
was introduced in rural area.
• In 1953, the colonial government
established a statutory corporation, the
Rural and Industrial Development
Authority (RIDA) which was primarily
orientated towards ’economic
development programmes for Malays.

The Third phase
• This phase in cocoa cultivation is
concomitant with the national government’s
strategy for economic diversification and the
ruling party’s ideology of Malay advancement
in the capitalist sector.
• The formation of Malaysia in 1963 and the
exclusion of Singapore in 1965 presented a
new opportunity for the case of Malay
capitalism.

• In 1965, the Majlis Amanah Rakyat
(Council of Trust for the People) or MARA
was formed, to replaced the failing RIDA.
• In the decade after dependence, economic
condition for most of the population had
been deteriorating.
• The mean income of Malay households
declined from 68 per cent of the national
average in 1957 to 64 per cent in 1970.

• Peasant landlessness continued
unabated while the pace of land
settlement in government schemes in
the 1960s remained slow.
• The culmination of the first dozen years
of post-colonial development came in
the form of post-election race riots in
May 1969.

• Aftermath of that situation, came a drastic
reorientation of some government programmes and
policies.
• The strengthened position of UMNO, the ruling
Malay party, produced new policies and
programmes on the economic front which were to
have an important impact on cocoa cultivation in
Malaysia.
• New Economic Policy (NEP) was formed in
association with the Second Malaysia Plan for 1971-
75.

• Two prongs of the NEP were :-
1. The eradication of poverty of the Malays.
2. To restructure society to reduce and
eventually eliminate the identification of
race with economic function.
• The measures outlined for poverty
eradication included land settlement for
some of the landless, government technical
assistance as well as productivity and
commodity price increases (for padi) for the
peasantry.

• Cocoa was introduced as a key cash
crop in order to play an important role
in the raising peasant incomes.
• A hybrid cocoa with superior yielding
properties and tolerance to disease
made it especially attractive as an
intercrop with coconut.
• Research had shown that the two
crops were complementary – coconut
providing shade cover to the cocoa.

• The major advantages of the cocoa-coconut
combination were:
1. Both crops were economically useful.
2. Field labour requirements could be
easily regulated, less effort, less capital
outlay and lower technical skills.
• The interest in cocoa in the 1970s was
revived largely because of the prevailing
world shortage of cocoa and the high
market prices.

• Cocoa acreage expanded and
increase in West Malaysia and Sabah
between 1960 and 1976 .
• By the establishment of M’sian
Agricultural Research and
Development Institute (MARDI), the
research and development of cocoa
and coconuts had been carried out.

To summarize, cocoa acreage
expanded in the late 1960s and
1970s, because:
1. in response to price incentives.
2. involvement of both private and
public sectors.
3. fostered its agricultural
development plans by the state.

4. techniques developed earlier during the
rubber and oil palm, enabled the easy
transfer of technology from the plantation
to the smallholding sector.
5. political stability, the good infrastructure
developed during the colonial period and
the existence of professional bodies such
as Incorporated Society of Planters (ISP)
and East M’sian Planters Asscociation
(EMPA).

• Other organizations were established:
1. MCGC – M’sian Cocoa Growers
Council – to coordinate and promote
cocoa research.
2. FAMA – Federal Agricultural
Marketing Authority – to promote the
sale of cocoa beans and grading
scheme.
3. MCB – Malaysian Cocoa Board – to
promote and enhanced development
of cocoa industry.

To conclude:
• The pattern of cocoa cultivation has
changed rapidly over the past fifty
years.
• Cocoa was developed first as a
commercial crop during the colonial
period by plantation and
manufacturing interests.

• Development by smallholders took
place after the Independence and
was fostered by the state or govt.
• The plantation has come to play an
important role in the economic
development philosophy and plans of
the Malaysian government.

Part 2: The cocoa tree -
Theobroma cacao L.

• Cocoa (Theobroma cacao) is a tropical
tree crop originating from the Amazon
basin where it grows in the shaded
rainforest understorey and can reach 20
m. The tree produces pods that contain
about 40 cocoa beans surrounded by a
sweet tasting pulp. When fermented and
processed, the beans produce one of the
most desired flavours in the world,
chocolate.

• Cocoa seedlings have a single main stem that
grows vertically to a height of one to two metres.
The bud then forms three to five branches (the
jorquette) that grow out at an angle as fan
branches. Further upright suckers (chupons)
emerge below the jorquette and grow up through
the fan branches forming more jorquettes and
further whorls of fan branch growth. In this way
the tree becomes higher, forming several layers
of jorquettes, each successively weakening and
eventually fading out.

• The root system of a mature tree
comprises a taproot up to 2 m long and a
dense system of lateral roots in the top 20
cm. These roots spread out to lengths of
5-6 m forming a dense surface-feeding
mat.

• Flowers arise from cushions in the wood of
the main stem and fan branches that is at
least two to three years old. Only 1-5% of
flowers are successfully pollinated and
form pods. Pollinating insects are mainly
tiny midges that require cool, dark, moist
habitats and breed in rotting vegetation.

• Even though only a small percentage of flowers
are pollinated, the tree sets too many fruit to
carry to maturity. Cocoa has a fruit thinning
mechanism where the young fruit (cherelles)
stop growing, turn black and shrivel but do not
fall off the tree. This is called cherelle wilt and is
often mistaken as a disease situation.
• The remaining pods take five to six months to
ripen after pollination. Ripe pods also do not fall
off the tree.

Ripe cocoa pods showing the
cocoa beans

History and usage
• For many centuries, the Mayas in South America
harvested cocoa from the wild for use in religious
ceremonies. In Central America, the Aztecs used cocoa
to make a thick chocolate style drink and cocoa beans
were used widely as currency.
• It is not known how cocoa originally reached Central
America but after the conquest of Mexico, cocoa
cultivation spread to the Carribean, then across the
Pacific to the Philippines, the East Indies and India.
• Cocoa also began to be cultivated in Brazil from where it
was eventually taken to Africa in the 19th century.

• European nations gradually became aware of cocoa in
the 17th century. When the Swiss developed milk
chocolate manufacturing late in the 18th century,
increased consumption stimulated the demand for cocoa
that led to widespread cultivation.
• In the 20th century, production increased rapidly - from
less than 125,000 tonnes in the early 1900s, cocoa has
become a major commodity crop reaching a record
3,100,000 tonnes in Yr 2000.
• By value, cocoa is now the seventh largest food
commodity traded globally.

Where is cocoa grown?
• Climatic and site requirements place cocoa in
the tropical regions of the world generally within
15o of the equator. This region is predominantly
underdeveloped and highly populated, and
cocoa production has evolved with access to
cheap and plentiful labour.
• Irrigation is rarely used and planting has been
restricted to regions with reliable, year round
rainfall.

• Cocoa is usually grown under remnant forest, planted
shade trees or intercropped with other commercial crops
that protect the cocoa.
• In Malaysia and Indonesia, cocoa is also grown in full
sun, although shade is used during establishment. The
height of cocoa is kept to about 3-5 m to make
management and harvesting easier.
• Average yields are low, about one tonne/ha or less of dry
beans. Harvesting has a high labour demand for a
relatively short and often unpredictable season.
• After harvest, beans are fermented and dried by growers
or at a central fermentary and then traded.

• About 70% of world production is grown by
smallholders on a low input, low output
basis. Typically, family or village labour is
used at relatively little cost, trees can be
individually managed and the quality of
bean fermentation is usually assured.
• As a rule of thumb, one labourer is
required per 2.5 ha of established cocoa in
traditional production systems.

• Remaining production (about 30%) is on plantations from
about 20 ha and upwards. Only recently have plantation
companies running large-scale operations grow cocoa.
• Cocoa does not offer the advantages of other crops
grown under estate style management systems. It does
not require substantial capital expenditure on processing
equipment and industrialised fermentation has generally
compromised quality.
• Also, labour productivity on plantations is critical to
profitability but there has been no determined effort to
mechanise cultural practices. To be competitive with
smallholders, plantation cocoa must achieve higher
average yields and this requires higher levels of inputs
for sustainability.

Environmental requirements
Temperature
• The ideal range of temperatures for cocoa is minimums
of 18-21oC and maximums of 30-32oC. Commercial
cocoa production is limited to where the average
minimum in the coldest months is greater than about
13oC. If the absolute minimum temperature falls below
10oC for several consecutive nights, the yield is likely to
be reduced. Defoliation and dieback occurs between 4-
8oC.
• Although cocoa will grow above 32oC, the upper
temperature limit is not well defined and shade cover will
influence maximum temperatures in the cocoa anyway.
High temperatures may affect bean characteristics and
yield.

Rainfall
• The distribution of annual rainfall for regions in
which cocoa is grown is 1,250 - 3,000 mm per
year. The rainfall must be well distributed and
any dry period should be no longer than three
months.
• Annual rainfall greater than 2,500 mm may
result in a higher incidence of fungal diseases.
• Irrigation is rarely used and information on
growing cocoa under irrigation is limited.

Soils
• Cocoa is grown on a wide range of soil types but
soils with moderate to high fertility are favoured
since fertiliser inputs under traditional production
systems are low. The main requirements are:
– 1.5 m depth of free draining soil
– good moisture holding capacity
– pH range from 4.5 to 7.0 preferably close to 6.5

Wind
• Attempts to establish cocoa without shade
often fail and one of the main causes is
wind damage.
• Cocoa prefers calm conditions and
persistent moderate wind can cause
problems during establishment.
• Young vigorous plants can be bent over
and new leaves can be broken at the axils.

How cocoa is grown?
Propagation
• Seedlings are generally used for planting. They are
raised in nurseries where shade, wind protection,
nutrition and irrigation are provided.
• Hybrid seeds are often sourced commercially but even
with these the plants raised can be highly variable in
growth and performance.
• Seed is collected from ripe pods and, if the fresh beans
are planted immediately, at least 90% should germinate
within two weeks. Planting of seed direct to the field is
not practiced due to lack of irrigation and problems with
weed and pest management.

• Vegetative propagation is used where selected
characteristics are desired. The trees raised are
much more uniform in growth and performance
than those raised from seed.
• Various techniques including, rooted cuttings,
budding and grafting are used.
• Cocoa presents special problems for in-vitro
propagation and reliable, economic methods for
mass tissue culture propagation have not been
developed.

A healthy seedling
ready for budding
Preparing rootstock
removing bud patch

Bud patch removed
from scion shoot
Tying budded portion after
inserting the patch

Budding tape removed
21 days after budding
Sprouted bud
Seedling shoot above the
sprout snapped back

Establishment
• Young cocoa plants may be field planted after three to
six months. Establishment without shade is rarely
successful so the shade must be well established prior to
field planting. As well as sun protection, the shade
reduces wind exposure and provides a better
microclimate. Shade strategies include retaining remnant
forest; planting temporary and permanent shade species
and interplanting with species that also provide a
commercial return. Shade removal is possible after three
to four years. In many situations windbreaks will be
beneficial or necessary.

• Planting density depends on factors such
as tree vigour, light interception and the
farming system.
• It may range from 800 - 3,000 trees/ha
with about 1,200 trees/ha being common
in Malaysia under permanent shade.

Nutrition
• About 200 kg N, 25 kg P, 300 kg K and
140 kg Ca are needed per ha to grow the
trees prior to pod production.
• For each 1,000 kg of dry beans harvested,
about 20 kg N, 4 kg P and 10 kg K is
removed - if the pod husks are also
removed from the field, the amount of K
removed increases to about 50 kg.

• Soil and leaf analyses can be used to determine
the nutritional needs of cocoa.
• There are some problems with leaf analyses due
to the difficulty in sampling leaves of the same
age and the influence of shading on the nutrient
composition of leaves.
• Visual symptoms of mineral deficiencies are well
documented and can be used as a qualitative
guide to fertiliser requirements.

Weeds
• Weed control is mainly an issue during
establishment - traditionally young cocoa is
weeded by manual slashing along the tree rows
or around young plants.
• More recently, herbicides are also being used.
• When cocoa is mature and a complete canopy is
formed, heavy shading and leaf mulch inhibits
weed growth so that only occasional attention to
removing woody weeds is required.
• Weeds will be an issue wherever the canopy
allows light to penetrate or there are paths
provided for access.

Pruning
• Cocoa propagated from seed is pruned to
develop the preferred structure shown in
the picture. Pruning is mainly used to limit
tree height.
• The first jorquette should be formed at 1.5-
2 m. Further chupons are continually
removed preventing subsequent jorquettes
and restricting further vertical growth.

• Some pruning of fan branches may be required
to maintain evenness in the structure and
remove low hanging branches. The end result
is the formation of a tree with the canopy at a
convenient height for management.
• Vegetatively propagated plants have a different
structure and will require different mgmt.
• There is little evidence of the value of pruning
strategies to promote high yields. Mechanical
pruning (hedging) is not practiced.

Pests and diseases
• High levels of yield loss to pests and
disease is major problem for world cocoa
production. The diseases of major
economic significance are listed in the
table (next slide) with an estimate of the
annual production losses attributed to
each (this list is not exhaustive and there
may be others of lesser but still notable
importance).

Major diseases of cocoa
Disease Region World Production
Loss Estimates
• Black Pod (Phytophthora) Africa, Brazil, Asia 450,000 tons
• Witches Broom (fungus) Latin America 250,000
• Frosty Pod Rot (fungus) Latin America 30,000
• Swollen Shoot Virus Africa 50,000
• Vascular Streak Dieback Africa 30,000

• Though over 1,500 different insects are known
to feed on cocoa, only about 2% are of
economic importance.
• However, when cocoa is introduced into a new
area a previously unrecorded pest almost
invariably attacks it.
• Mirid bugs such as Helopeltis are the most
significant and widely occurring insect pests of
cocoa, and cocoa pod borer is a major pest in
Malaysia and Indonesia.
• Mealy bugs are generally not a major pest
themselves but are a well-known vector for
viruses of cocoa.

• In the wild, natural sowing of cocoa relies
on animals such as rats and monkeys
breaking into ripe pods and feeding on the
sweet mucilage around the beans.
Significant yield losses from such damage
are experienced in almost all parts of the
world where cocoa is grown and may well
be 5 - 10% on average.

Harvesting and bean extraction
• Cocoa harvest is not limited to one discrete
period but spread over several months and in
some regions there may be pods available for
harvest throughout the year.
• Typically, there are one or two peak harvest
periods influenced by flowering in response to
rainfall. However, temperature and the crop
already on the tree will also influence flowering
so that the yearly-cropping pattern can vary in
areas with relatively uniform climate.

• On ripening, pods turn from green or deep
red to yellow or orange.
• Only the ripe pods that have changed
colour are harvested though the timing is
not critical since under-ripe pods will
ferment satisfactorily and ripe pods can be
left on the tree for two to three weeks.

Cocoa pods in various stages of
ripening

• After this, pods may rot and the beans
may germinate inside the pod.
• Harvesting is by hand using machetes or
knives to cut pods from the tree since
pulling the pods from the tree can damage
the flower cushion and tear the bark.

• After harvest, the pods are opened to
extract wet beans and this can be done
immediately or delayed for up to several
days. This is also a manual operation -
usually the pod is cut open and the beans
are scooped out by hand.
• The placenta, which joins the beans inside
the pod, is preferably separated from the
wet beans prior to fermentation.

• Machines have been developed for pod
breaking and bean extraction but have not
been adopted either because of difficulty
in separating the wet bean from broken
pod fragments or because they have not
suited the needs of cocoa growing
operations.

Fermentation and drying
• Fermentation and drying are the last operations
carried out on-farm prior to trading of dried
beans. Fermentation is essential for the
development of chocolate flavour (further
developed during roasting of the beans).
• After extraction, the wet beans are bulked
together and gradually heat up as a result of
exothermic chemical reactions in the pulp
caused by the activity of microorganisms.

• Initially, the mucilage is broken down and
drains off as ‘sweatings’, after 36 - 72
hours the beans are killed and a series of
chemical changes takes place inside the
bean some of which continue during
drying.

• Although chemically complex, methods of fermentation
are simple. Fermentation is carried out in specially
constructed wooden boxes, in heaps covered by banana
leaves or in baskets.
• Much of the heat generated is retained by insulation but
this is more difficult with small quantities of beans and a
minimum of about 90 kg is required using traditional
heap or box methods.
• The process usually takes from five to seven days to
complete depending on the type of cocoa being grown
and local practice. The mass of beans is turned or stirred
at least once for aeration.

Fermentation boxes (800 kg
capacity), Malaysia

• Fermented beans are then dried in the sun
or artificially to a level that is safe for
storage and transport (6-7 % moisture
content dry basis).
• Artificial drying can cause beans to be
very acidic if they are dried too quickly.
• Dried beans are hand sorted or
mechanically sieved and winnowed to
remove defective beans and debris.

• The "pod index" expresses the number of pods
required to produce one kilogram of dried beans.
A low pod index usually means good bean size
and a saving in harvesting costs since there is a
high weight of beans per pod.
• The "recovery" is the proportion of dry fermented
beans to wet unfermented beans expressed as
a percentage. It ranges from about 40% for
under-ripe pods to 45% for over-ripe pods but is
also affected by variety and season.

Cocoa

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