Cocoa Trees in West Africa Are Being Ravaged By a Disease With No Known Cure. 4 minute read. Cocoa pods hang from a tree on a farm outside of Kumasi, Ghana, on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2008.

In a little clearing in a Ghanaian forest, not far from where grapefruit-size cocoa pods hang heavily from the trees, 67-year-old Yaa Asantewaa breaks into song.

She makes fine chocolate in Africa using local African ingredients. Other African companies such as Ghana's Golden Tree use local cocoa but import milk powder and sugar.

Remarkably, a cacao tree can live more than 200 years; ... Cacao beans from West African regions tend to have a rich, fudgy ...

Long the world’s undisputed cocoa powerhouses accounting for over 60% of global supply, Ghana and its West African neighbour Ivory Coast are both facing catastrophic harvests this season.

Insect-eating bats prefer cocoa farms that retain large, old-growth trees that mimic the natural forest conditions. New research found higher abundance and diversity of bats on farms with 65% or ...

A new campaign by Fairtrade America raises awareness about how little West African cocoa farmers earn, ... She has 2.5 acres of cocoa trees, each acre with 430 trees.

Worldwide, the cocoa industry is a $5.1 billion market, with West Africa growing more than half of the 3 million tons sold annually, according to the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF).

Heavier rainfall last crop season caused an increase in diseases among cocoa trees. Now cocoa tree farmers in West Africa are facing dry temperatures and extreme winds from this year’s El Niño.

Climate change, ageing plantations and a shortage of young farmers risk strangling Africa's cocoa industry, a top official from a bloc of 10 producer nations said. Skip to main content.

Cocoa and coffee futures reached new highs on mounting concerns of extreme weather, while aging trees in Africa cocoa crops and Vietnam coffee areas added to concerns. “Speculators are drawing ...