evolved and been well conserved into the twenty-first century. Why has this
happened, and what are their chances of surviving into the future? Are there
lessons to be learned for the introduction of more sustainable cocoa-growing
practices in other tropical regions?
Agroforest Estates in Bahia, Brazil
Bahia is exceptional in the cocoa world for a second reason: most of its cocoa
is grown on large estates (Ramos 1976; Alger and Caldas 1992; Greenhill
1996). This makes it difficult to apply lessons from this case study directly to
the smallholder farms that dominate the cocoa sector in most other countries.
Nevertheless, it is instructive to see that the attitudes toward shade in this
region, though insufficiently researched, oppose to some extent those of the
Côte d’Ivoire.
Historical evidence suggests that in the nineteenth century cocoa growing
in Bahia was associated with the familiar shifts in local production zones. Mar-
tius (cited by Monbeig 1937) writes:
In 1820, the grains (beans) were spread over the hot banks of
fine sand to dry, then taken down on pirogues to the maritime
ports, Ilhéos, Belmonte, Caravellas etc., a journey of three to
four days. This traffic has considerably diminished, firstly due to
the construction of the railway, but also because of the progres-
sive shift away from the river, which has led to the abandonment
of the old fazendas; near Itabuna, all the way along the river, one
often sees the now deserted buildings of these fazendas. (p. 210)In the early twentieth century, a structure of large estates was built in Bahia
(Mahony 1996), and the practices of cocoa growing on these estates were
described by James (1942, cited by Leeds 1957) as follows:
Plantation practices in Bahia are notably extensive and exploita-
tive....Once planted, the young trees are given almost no
attention until they come of bearing age....Thereafter, instead
of clearing away the brush and weeds each year, this kind of
work is done only every four or five years. When yields decline,
the older plantations are abandoned and new ones are set out on
virgin soils....Here is speculative and destructive economy at
its worst; one that is bringing temporary and unstable activity to
Ilhéus and Salvador....In short, the land, for the cacao zone
capitalist class, is to be raped like a woman of easy life, rather
than cherished like a wife. (p. 400)Ironically, the structure of large estates where these “notably extensive
and exploitative” practices were observed was also a key factor favoring the
- Chocolate Forests and Monocultures 125