Local cacao varieties promise high biodiversity and fine flavours

Fruits from cacao plants native to Peru Photo: Teja Tscharntke Agroecologists from Göttingen University study their socio-ecological importance in South America In the western Amazon region, cacao has been cultivated since prehistoric times and the area is a valuable resource for genetic diversity of cacao plants. There is growing interest here in switching cultivation from high-yielding but mostly low-quality cacao to indigenous cacao varieties that produce chocolate with particularly fine flavours. This could enable smallholder farmers to obtain higher prices, as an international team of researchers led by the University of Göttingen has shown. In addition, these varieties could adapt better to the local climate and growing conditions. Further benefits include promoting local biodiversity and ecosystem services such as pollination and biological pest control. The results were published in the journal Conservation Letters. Cacao tree with grafts from the non-native, high-yielding variety 'CCN-51' ( dark red ), while a cacao fruit ( green ) native to Peru has emerged on the rootstock below the grafting site.