Growing cocoa on Sao Tome and Principe: a new export drive

Work starts at dawn at the Roca Olivais Marim cocoa plantation in the southern part of the island of Sao Tome. Cocoa was once the chief export of the island nation of Sao Tome and Principe. But when the plantations were nationalized in 1975, production fell to just a tenth of its previous level, down to a meager 3,000 metric tons a year. Now there are plans to boost production once again.

Nationalization of the cocoa plantations in Sao Tome and Principe was followed by years of mismanagement. In the 1990s, they were finally returned to private ownership. Nonetheless large tracts of land remained unused. The population left the interior of the country. Now 2,500 hectares (6,175 acres) are going to be recultivated with new cocoa seedlings.

A worker prepares the seedlings for planting on the once deserted Roca Granja plantation. On Sao Tome and Principe there are ideal conditions for growing cocoa – volcanic soil and tropical climate. During the colonial era, 15 large cocoa plantations covering 60,000 hectares produced 36,000 tons of cocoa annually.

Cocoa was first grown and cultivated on the smaller of the two islands, Principe, in 1822. Portuguese settlers brought the first cocoa plants from Brazil. As cocoa became popular in the 19th century, the islands' Portuguese colonial masters recruited workers from other Portuguese colonies, such as Cape Verde and Angola. They often worked under appalling conditions.

Tractors water the Roca Santa Luzia plantation on Sao Tome. It belongs to the CECCAB cooperative, which grows organic produce. Cocoa can be cultivated with a minimum of damage to the environment because it can grow under the shade of other trees. Cocoa farmers can therefore accommodate a greater variety of species on their plantations than producers of other monoculture exports, such as soya.

The Amelonado cocoa bean originally came from the Amazon Basin in South America and was the first variety to be planted in Sao Tome and Principe. A subspecies of Forastero cocoa, it is hugely popular on the world market and is now the most widely grown variety. Amelonado is grown on Sao Tome and Principe to this day.

Cocoa producers try to reintroduce old varieties that have fallen into disuse or simply been forgotten. They include a number of hybrids of different cocoa varieties. The cocoa tree can grow to a height of 12 meters (39 feet), cocoa pods to a length of 30 centimeters. They are green, reddish or yellow. When they ripen, they tend to become more yellowish.

After the ripe cocoa pods have been harvested, they need to be dried. At the Roca Morro Peixe plantation, they use the heat of the sun. Workers built a hothouse with a wooden frame and plastic sheeting. The sun shines on the sheeting and the required temperature is reached without any additional source of energy. This is good for the environment because there is no need to burn any firewood.

At the Roca Santa Margarida plantation, bad cocoa beans are removed before the rest of the harvest is packed away for freighting. This requires much concentration and manual dexterity. Those who work here are descendants of the laborers who came from Cape Verde. They are among the few who have not deserted the plantation in times of economic hardship for life in the city.

The beans are poured into the familiar cocoa sacks for export. Most of the cocoa from Sao Tome and Principe is sent to Europe and the traditional cocoa importers, France and Switzerland. Sao Tome and Principe is looking to boost its cocoa exports.