This study finds that using locally-selected cocoa clones can significantly boost cocoa yields. Conducted over five years in Bolivia, the research compared the performance of local clones against widely-used international varieties and found that local clones produced two to five times more cocoa beans. These clones also had larger pods and therefore required fewer pods to achieve the same cocoa weight, making harvesting more efficient.
These findings suggest that investing in local genetic selection can increase productivity sustainably, helping farmers optimize yields and maintain ownership of adapted genetic material. The research underscores the importance of high potential genetic material, as this shows stronger influence on harvest quantities than the choice between organic or conventional production.