AFP, Coaraci, Brazil :
With an attentive eye, Henrique Almeida watches a technician carefully open a hundred cocoa pods, while another worker on the plantation collects samples in bags to check whether the batch conforms to the “South Bahia” geographical indication.
Like famed wines from specific regions in Europe, such as France’s Champagne, the geographical indication (GI) denotes the origin and quality of the cocoa, leading to higher prices that are a boon to farmers who meet the exacting standards.
“The production of fine cocoa and the creation of the geographical indication label make it possible to have a profitable business and pull our region upwards,” Almeida explained.
The 63-year-old comes from a cocoa-growing family that has been farming for three generations. In 2006, he acquired the hundred-year-old Sagarana farm, 148 acres (60 hectares) on a hillside in Coaraci, in the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia.
With an attentive eye, Henrique Almeida watches a technician carefully open a hundred cocoa pods, while another worker on the plantation collects samples in bags to check whether the batch conforms to the “South Bahia” geographical indication.
Like famed wines from specific regions in Europe, such as France’s Champagne, the geographical indication (GI) denotes the origin and quality of the cocoa, leading to higher prices that are a boon to farmers who meet the exacting standards.
“The production of fine cocoa and the creation of the geographical indication label make it possible to have a profitable business and pull our region upwards,” Almeida explained.
The 63-year-old comes from a cocoa-growing family that has been farming for three generations. In 2006, he acquired the hundred-year-old Sagarana farm, 148 acres (60 hectares) on a hillside in Coaraci, in the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia.
