Blame climate change. Or pestilence. Or China's Westernizing taste in candy. Blame, perhaps, Ebola.

Regardless, the world is running out of chocolate. In 2013, the world consumed about 70,000 metric tons more cocoa than it produced. And now, Mars, Inc.
and Barry Callebaut—two of the world's biggest manufacturers of chocolate goods—are warning that by 2020, that consumption-over-production number could increase to 1 million metric tons
(a fourteen-fold bump). "Chocolate deficits, whereby farmers produce less cocoa than the world eats, are becoming the norm," The Washington Post reported. We are in the midst of what may be "the longest streak of consecutive chocolate deficits in more than 50 years" and analysts say it's only going to get worse.



http://m.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/11/Chocolate-shortage-2020-mars-barry-callebaut/382855/

Guys, don't forget opportunity abound in cocoa farming, no glut envisaged instead demand is more than production.Where are the farmers?

I inherited a cocoa farm which i am planing to increase the trees. But the problem is that of thieves and cocoa diesease which have been resposible for shortfall

2cato:
I inherited a cocoa farm which i am planing to increase the trees. But the problem is that of thieves and cocoa diesease which have been resposible for shortfall

How is it going now?

2cato:
I inherited a cocoa farm which i am planing to increase the trees. But the problem is that of thieves and cocoa diesease which have been resposible for shortfall

.

Hope it's getting better? Are you in SW/Edo?

You probably need to talk to cocoa farmers for advise of getting the right chemicals to pump the pods at the right time.
Black pod disease (Phythophthora species) has always been a problem.
Phythophthora so destroyed Ireland's potato plants in 1848 that the population was halved through famine deaths/starvation & emigration to England, USA, Australia etc. Ancestors of J.F. Kennedy, Bill Clinton and so on left Ireland at that time.

The Gamalin 20 & copper sulphate used in the past, I heard are not of same quality these days.

Perenox also called Copper (1) Oxide was very good, so was Metalaxyl also called Ridomil I think.

You know as living standard went down from IBB's time, a lot of affordable quack goods entered the system including cocoa antifungals.
I helped granddad in his cocoa plantation those days during long school holiday.

Cocoa is a very sensitive tree. It need the right amount of sunlight. Too many palm, rubber, mango, orange iroko, obeche and other wide canopy trees makes the environment too cool. Cool environment is very conducive to blackpod. If you can start pumping before rain starts heavily, blackpod will be less. You have to pump several times during the year.

It needs a well-drained soil too.

Cocoa on a kind of slanting land did very well in my observation (not book knowledge).
It's a great plant & you will enjoy it.