The challenges of a sustainable cocoa value chain: A study of traditional and “fine or flavour” cocoa produced by the kichwas in the ecuadorian Amazon region

Abstract

Cocoa (beans) is one of the highest-value crops globally, yet some producer countries still follow ancient ancestral-style production practices, particularly in Latin America. Most of the production system is in the hands of small-scale producers, who have faced significant obstacles to trading their products with large multinationals due to a power imbalance in the negotiation, generating a gap between the social, environmental, and economic outcomes. Several initiatives have been developed to promote social and sustainable practices, especially regarding social factors in some industries. However, producers still face issues concerning their sustainability due to ongoing economic challenges. This study aims to identify the mechanisms of integrating these ancestral producers into the cocoa value chain and the sustainability challenges this production system faces. This study attempts to upgrade trade opportunities, focusing on Productores Kichwas: an association of cacao producers in Ecuador's Amazon region. Our research relies on primary sources, and we based our case study on questionnaires and interviews supplemented with secondary sources (official documents and assessments). We applied a value chain analysis proposed by Gereffi and other researchers to process the data. This analysis allowed us to identify factors that impede commercialisation: a scarcity of physical capital and financial backing, partly due to an inability to access credit, and poor access to international markets. These factors restrict the producers' ability to make game-changing upgrades and limit their ability to exploit their real potential, including their natural (chakra) production system and social (communal organisation) capital. Thus, an intermediary's role is essential to handle the aspects of cacao production that the community organisation cannot manage.