As Valentine’s Day approaches, craving for chocolate intensifies. But chocolate continues to face significant challenge: climate change threatening cocoa production, especially in West Africa, which produces about 70% of the world supply. Growing temperatures and changing precipitation patterns interfere with cocoa crops, which affect the amount and quality of the beans – and Raising prices for consumers.
Cocoa prices rose 136% Between July 2022 and February 2024, according to the supervision of the price of the goods. The last first price per metric toni in the Futures market exceeded $ 10,000 MarchAccording to the United Nations trade agency, which partly attributed an increase in climate change.
The new analysis of scientists in the exploratory climate Central emphasizes that climate changes are gurnal temperatures above the optimal range of cocoa trees in West Africa. This analysis is “the first one we know about this truly tries to put a number on how many people and climate change affect the cocoa trees and the production of cocoa from West Africa,” said Kristina Dahl, a science vice president in CLIMA Central.
West African countries have long been the heart of cocoa production, producing around 3.48 million metric tons From cocoa beans in the 2022-2023 season. This massive output is vital for the global chocolate industry, where about 400 cocoa beans are required to make only one kilogram of chocolate. Millions of farmers depend on the crops for life. In Gani Kakaa production provides employment for 3.2 million farmers and workers, more than 10% of their total number population. “Climate change threatens the existence of a cocoa farmer and their sources for life,” says Kakaa farmer Emmanuel Essah-Mensah of Ghana, who advises several hundred cocoa farms.
Cocoa trees are grown in regions within 10 degrees north and south of the equator, where the climate is ideal for its cultivation. Crop-sirovi, an unprecedented form of beans of cocoa of two primary harvest periods in Western Africa: the main harvest of crops from September to March and in the middle of the crop from May to August. After flowering, it takes about five to six months to make the pods ripen. Once ripe, the pods are hand -assembled, then they open to draw seeds, which undergo fermentation and drying processes to develop flavors necessary for chocolate production.
The ideal temperature range for cocoa growth is up to 32 Celsius, or 89.6 Fahrenheit, but recent trends indicate that climate change increases the number of days above this range. Central climate examined temperatures from 44 districts, regions or countries in West Africa, including Cameroon, D’Ardira, Ghana and Nigeria. Over the past decade, approximately two -thirds of the growing region, which has been growing with an increase of at least an additional six weeks of days, are warmer each year than ideal for trees due to climate change, while one third has experienced at least the third additional weeks of excessive heat.
Excessive heat seriously affects cocoa production. Cocoa plants rely on stable temperatures for appropriate photosynthesis, and too many hot days can affect photosynthesis, leading to a nibble flower and smaller, rotten cocoa pods.
The influence of climate change extends beyond thermal stress. The cocoa trees are also sensitive to precipitation patterns. Cocoa succeeds when the rain is between 1500 and 2,000 millimeters, or about 59 to 79 inches per year, without dry spells longer than three months, According to the international organization of cocoa . In July 2024, parts of the Côte d’Avoire recorded 40% more rain than usual, flood fields and harmful crops, while in December it brought some rain to the region, which slows down photosynthesis, leading to smaller flowers and more underdeveloped beans. Purple irregular patterns leave farmers unpredictable for cultivation conditions, contributing to lower harvests and higher prices.
In order to adapt, some farmers are turning to various agricultural practices adapted to nature, such as planting higher trees between the plants of cocoa, creating healthy fertile soils that are kept moisture and provide a protective shade for cocoa plants. However, such strategies are not stupid and they can take time to implement. The future of cocoa breeding in the warming world remains uncertain, and the constant challenges are threatening to continue to drive the price of chocolate, making its favorite sweet treat a pricier to enjoy.
