Agriculture and Environment: Cocoa

Environmental impacts of production: Wastes from Processing

For each metric ton of cocoa beans harvested, nearly 10 metric tons of waste (pods, pulp, etc.) are created.

In the past, the waste was often kept in the plantation and used as organic fertilizer or mulch.

This practice, however, favours the propagation of witches'-broom and black pod rot unless the materials are properly composted to eliminate diseases. Such waste can also be used as mosquito breeding grounds and can be responsible for the spread of diseases to humans as well.