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Cacao Farming in India: From Colonial Times to Post-Independence

Pre-Independence: Introduction to cacao

Cacao was first introduced to India in 1798 by the British, who brought it to the southern region. They established eight plantations of a unique cacao variety known as criollo in the Courtallam area of Tamil Nadu. Criollo cacao is known for its great taste but the plant also gets sick very easily. The weather in India was tough for this type of cacao, and even though people were excited at first, these early tries didn't do very well.



During the time when India was ruled by the British, cacao was just a small crop that didn't really change farming much. Even though places like Courtallam seemed like they could be good for growing cacao, the industry didn't grow as much as the British wanted. This time set up some ideas for later, but there were more problems than successes in growing cacao.

 

Post-Independence Era: Cacao Expansion in South India (1947 Onwards)

The transformation of cacao farming in India began after independence, particularly in the 1960s and 1970s. South India’s fertile soil and tropical climate make it an ideal region for cacao cultivation. The push to establish a thriving cacao industry was driven by increasing global demand and local initiatives.

In the mid-1960s, the main focus for cacao cultivation was on Wayanad, Kerala. Soon realized that the criollo type of cocoa wasn't a good fit, so a new Amazonian Forestero type cacao was brought in. This did well in the Indian weather and produced more cacao.

South India’s regions like Nagercoil, Courtallam, and the Palani Hills provided ideal conditions for cacao, benefiting from monsoons and brief droughts. In 1964, Tropical Agricultural Advisor G. A. R. Wood identified Kerala, Madras, and Mysore as particularly suitable for cacao cultivation.

The 1970s saw efforts to improve farming practices, including Kerala Agricultural University’s cacao breeding programs, supported by the World Bank. By 1987, a collaboration with a certain global manufacturer produced hybrid seeds that boosted chocolate yields, further establishing India’s presence in the global cacao market.

Despite challenges in the 1980s, when market demand for cacao beans declined, CAMPCO, a multinational farmers’ cooperative, stabilized the market by purchasing wet beans and maintaining prices. This intervention helped avert a crisis, ensuring steady demand and improving the quality of Indian cacao to meet international standards.

The post-independence era marked South India’s rise as a significant cacao-growing region, transforming the crop from a colonial experiment into a thriving agricultural industry that positioned India as a key player in the global market.

 

The Bean-to-Bar Movement

This movement started in 2010, when people began to pay more attention to quality and sustainability. Coping with this trend and stimulated by the desire to create chocolate of highest quality and from beans sourced in India, Indian chocolatiers started to act. It focused on sustainability, fair trade practices, and being transparent to give consumers high-quality artisanal chocolates while fitting into the societal shift towards authenticity. It gave rise to few more small-scale bean-to-bar chocolate makers to set up the base for the artisanal chocolate industry in India.

 

Emergence of Dark Chocolates

The rise of Dark chocolate in India happened in the 2000's, with the World Food trends, arrival of specialized companies and easy availability. This shift occurred over time and because people gained awareness of the potential health benefits of consuming dark chocolate, which is full of antioxidants and low in sugar, as well as the pleasure of a different taste. It has also been seen that as good quality of dark chocolate have become available in the Indian market from premium as well as craft chocolate makers, the Indian consumers switched from regular plain milk chocolate to this variety.

 

Current Industry farmers

 

Cocoa production in India is done by individuals, not only smallholders but also large plantations. Cocoa cultivation is mainly concentrated in the states of Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. They are the most prevalent in the sector, particularly in owning and operating small farms and availing themselves of the support from programs such as by the Cocoa Board of India including training, incentives, or expertise. Likewise, Cocanada and various NGOs relationship aims at increasing better methods of farming and the general quality and sustainable cultivation of the products. Much of these efforts are important in the growth and development of the Indian cocoa industry and take it to the next level of internationalization.

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