On Sunday 21 April, 2024 Cacao of Excellence will host a special side-event at the 2024 World Cocoa Conference entitled, Harnessing the value of cacao quality and diversity for improved producer livelihoods.
This side event is centered around two key publications developed by the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT’s Cacao of Excellence programme together with its partners.
PANEL DISCUSSION 1: Developing capacity for understanding and improving cacao quality and flavour based on a common language
The cacao sector has long grappled with challenges stemming from the absence of commonly agreed standardised protocols for evaluating cacao quality and flavour, as well as the lack of a common language to describe the sensory experience of cacao. These issues have impeded effective communication and understanding between producers and buyers, disproportionately affecting farmers in cacao origins who strive to cultivate and sell superior quality cacao deserving of higher prices. Establishing credible, reliable, and standardised methods for assessing cacao quality and flavour is an important first step to overcome these obstacles. Released in 2023, and translated into French, Spanish and Italian, the “Guide for the Assessment of Cacao Quality and Flavour” draws upon the expertise of experts across the sector and offers precise instructions for the establishment of cacao processing and assessment facilities and the creation of sensory evaluation panels with rigorous scientific foundation.
Drawing from the Guide, this portion of the side-event will explore how best we can create a sustainable global network of validated infrastructure across origins and further strengthen application of a common language. The event will explore how stakeholders across the value chain can benefit from the creation of a certified network of infrastructure and experts who use a common language, streamlining communication and the recognition of quality and flavour across the sector.
This portion of the side-event will begin with a 10-minute presentation on the Guide for the Assessment of Cacao Quality and Flavour followed by a discussion on a vision for a sustainable network of validated centres of excellence. Panelists for this portion of the side event include:
- Moderator: Zoï Papalexandratou, Lead Cocoa Advisor, Zoto
- Cristian Noboa, Technical Director, ANECACAO (Ecuador)
- Carolina Aguilar, Cocoa Director, Maximizing Opportunities in Coffee and Cacao in the Americas (MOCCA) project (United States Department of Agriculture), Lutheran World Relief
- Katrien Delaet, Cacao Entrepreneur & Co-owner, Silva Cacao
- Sylvestre Awono, Group Cacao Manager, Puratos
PANEL DISCUSSION 2: Development of a Superior Quality Cacao market segment: Aligning vision across the value chain
Despite signs of emerging segmentation and growing consumer demand for superior quality cacao-based products, information on opportunities to value quality and diversity in the current cacao market are lacking. The sector is broadly segmented between “bulk” or conventional cacao and “fine flavour” cacao. This binary notion of the market fails to capture the quality and flavour diversity of cacao and relegates most of the world’s cacao to the bulk category. While all cacao-producing origins have the potential to produce superior quality cacao, entrenched preconceptions by industry actors regarding the flavour and overall quality potential of different genetic groups continue to drive the categorisation of different cacao and specific producing origins and regions. Infrastructure and capacity within producing origins to produce, identify and value cacao quality and diversity remain underdeveloped. The lack of global standards for quality assessment and international pricing mechanisms also hinders the potential to value cacao quality and diversity, favouring the trade and processing of undifferentiated and low value commodity cacao.
To better understand the challenges and opportunities for cacao quality and diversity to drive value, an upcoming report “Market Intelligence for Enhancing Cacao Quality” developed by the Cacao of Excellence programme and funded by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Investment Center, aims to identify key investments that could catalyse a more enabling environment for the development of a superior quality cacao market in the years to come. The report’s key questions will be presented as a precursor to a broader discussion on quality and diversity as a driver of value and a reimagining of a sector in flux.
The second portion of the side-event will begin with a 10-minute presentation of initial findings of the report, “Market Intelligence for Enhancing Cacao Quality”, followed by a panel of high-level speakers spanning the sector. Panelists include:
- Moderator: Jonas Mva Mva IDH Regional Director Africa, Landscapes & Cocoa The Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH)
- Mohamed Manssouri, Director, FAO Investment Center
- Michael Ndoping, General Manager, National Cocoa and Coffee Board of Cameroon (ONCC)
- Marcello Corno, Head of Cocoa Science, Barry Callebaut
- Andrew Meter, Research Associate, Cacao of Excellence/Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT
- Carine Poe, Deputy Director, Conseil du Café Cacao (CCC), Côte d’Ivoire
This side-event convenes high-level speakers from across the value chain to build-upon two essential knowledge products for a more sustainable and equitable sector.
Cacao of Excellence will also feature some of its key products at its booth at the Global Village for the duration of the conference. Event participants are welcome to visit the Cacao of Excellence Booth #47.
