🌱ASA Project: Supporting Smallholder Cocoa Farmers in Costa Rica 🍫

The project began on May 7th with a kickoff workshop to define the initial steps of the tandem working groups. Six students, Abril, Nicole, and Brayan from Costa Rica, Ella and Gregor from Germany, and Livia from Italy are currently developing a consumer questionnaire and interview guides for chocolatiers, who will be identified in the next phase.

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Cocoa has long been a traditional crop in Costa Rica, particularly in the Talamanca region. After a major decline in the 1970s due to the Monilinia fungus, new resistant cocoa varieties and improved practices have helped revive the sector. Today, Costa Rican cocoa is recognized as 100% fine flavor cocoa, produced without child labor and in compliance with strict environmental regulations such as the EU Deforestation Regulation.

Despite rising global demand and record-high market prices, smallholders in Costa Rica have seen little benefit. Most gains in production have come from large plantations, while small producers face high labor costs and limited market access.

This project focuses on identifying actionable strategies for small cocoa farmers in Talamanca, one of the country’s most underserved regions, to enhance production and tap into international markets.

Project Objectives ✨

1. To evaluate the German fine flavor cocoa market and its potential for Costa Rican exports.

2. To conduct four in-depth case studies with typical cocoa farmers in the Talamanca region (including two indigenous Bribri farmers and two Afro-descendant farmers).

3. To develop individualized, realistic development strategies for these farmers.

4. To propose viable development strategies that consider the potential for cooperative action to better access international value chains.

5. To create a simple tool for assessing the environmental, economic, and social sustainability of agroforestry farms.

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© Cocoa Photos by Wiki