Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Cloning Cacao

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan 12 2004 (IPS) - Biotechnology and specialized agronomy practices are contributing to the recovery of the cacao crop in the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia, which until 1989 was the world leader in this raw material for chocolate. To recuperate the cacao, experts cloned the resistant trees and grafted the clones to infected plants — a measure promoted by the cacao commission of the Ministry of Agriculture.

This approach is accompanied by application of fungicides and fertilizer, biological controls, diversification of crops and reforestation.

In 1989, a fungal disease known as witch's broom began to destroy the cacao plantations, causing total losses for farmers and costing the local communities thousands of jobs.

Meanwhile, Brazil is collaborating in studies of “monilla”, a disease present in Ecuador and Peru that is “worse than witch's broom,” says Stela Midlej da Silva, a ministry researcher.