The Cocoa Tree of Life

Oval-shaped, 30.5-centimeter cocoa pods hung from the 400 cocoa trees spread throughout the hamlet of Gantarangkeke. Nurman, the 41-year-old owner of the land, picked one cocoa pod and gently split it open with a knife. Round seedsrounder than normal cocoaemerged, covered in a white skin. "A tree can yield seven kilograms of dried cocoa seeds from each harvest," he told Tempo two weeks ago. Usually trees yield only a half or a third of that.

This is Gantarangkeke Bantaeng cocoa, or GTB, the variety Nurman discovered three years ago. Gantarangkeke is the name of a hamlet in Bantaeng regency, South Sulawesi. Apart from producing more than normal, GTB trees can better withstand pests and unfavorable weather. This cocoa is the result of a hybridization of local low-productivity varieties the 20-year-old seeds of cocoa trees indigenous to Bantaeng. For the past two years, cocoa croppers throughout Gantarangkeke and surrounding areas have planted GTB in their orchards. Nurman has taught them all how to plant it properly.

November 11, 2014