Kati Notes

Northern Madagascar

• fertile north is the hottest and wettest region of Madagascar

• most fertile region of Madagascar due to the near location to the equator (about 1.400km south) and regular rainfall, especially in the months from December to March, and an average temperature of 25C

• tropical climate with regular (almost daily) rainfall, mostly during the evening and night

• most of the countryside in the north is cultivated land (farmland) for vanilla, cocoa, sugar cane, rice, coffee, pepper, ylang-ylang, oranges

• Sambirano Valley always wet, humid climate

Ambanja

• located a bit inland of the mouth of the Sambirano river

• located in the northwest of Madagascar

• road to Ambanja is lined with teks or mantalias trees (large trees)

Sambirano River

• flows into the Mozambique Channel

• Ramena river and Ambatra river flow into the Sambirano river

Samibirano Valley

• big flood in 2004 and 2005 destroyed many plantations (about 600ha)

• rain, river washed sand from the mountains into the valley - result of erosion - no fertile soil anymore, just sand - not possible to grow cocoa

• many families moved away from the valley

• today many farmers move out of fear of a new flood to the higher regions to farm rice and come back to the lower regions in the dry season to farm cocoa

• Millot's farm has been affected by the flood as well - Millot is now forced to buy cocoa from farmers (only best quality through Millot for Nespresso - 90kg wet cocoa for 1,000,000 Ariary)

ADAPS

• Association pour le Développement de l'Agriculture et du Paysannat du Sambirano - Association for the Development of Agriculture and the Peasantry of the Sambirano

• peasentry - Kleinbauern, Landvolk - small farmers

• http://www.sidi.fr/Popups%20Partenaires/adaps.htm: The ADAPs (Association for the Development of Agriculture and the peasantry Sambirano) was founded in 2000 on the initiative of a dozen farmers in the region of Sambirano, on the north coast west of Madagascar. It currently has nearly 1,000 members.

Despite the rich agricultural potential of the region, producers were faced with many difficulties: lack of technical supervision, lack of market information, unavailability of inputs, lack of access to credit, aging plantations, etc.. They are mobilized to set up a farmers' association with the following objectives: to protect their interests in marketing their products, improve their incomes and living conditions. Under the partnership with AFDI Picardy, ADAPs operates mainly in three sectors: cocoa, vanilla and gardening.

SIDI is related to the ADAPS since 2004. The first funding for the SIDI was established in October 2008, as a collateral for a loan granted by the BMOI, Malagasy local bank to finance cocoa farmers organized into cooperatives of cocoa during their deliveries to a local exporter, the company Ramaex. SIDI has also set up a system to enable farmers in a cooperative to buy rice during the harvest period and have them available during the lean period, critical period and difficult to Madagascar.

• independent farmers association

• have certificate

• farm and process the cocoa after regulations (farming, fermentation) to ensure a good quality cocoa

• buy dry beans from independent farmers for a fixed, fair price
  
  

Cocoa Farmers

• peasant farmers (small farmers)

• Robert - bean to bar on location, single source

Ferdinand Jaomanoro

• +261 (0)32 62 31 056

• cocoa farmer, lives in the village Ambalavelona, about ...km from Ambanja

• president of ADAPS cooperation in this area (is one of the founding members, 2004)

• 0.66ha cocoa plantation with about 400 cocoa trees of mixed species (planted in 1978)

• began to stop to grow Forastero trees

• cocoa trees shaded by large trees such as mango, inga dulcis, jackfruit, wild ylang-ylang, cinnamon

• uses zebu shit as organic fertiliser

• works with his son and wive on plantation

• sells dry cocoa beans to ADAPS for a fair (fixed) price (about 1,600 Ariary for 1kg dry beans??? not sure about price)

• http://www.liberation.fr/economie/010157686-le-cacao-malgache-plus-cooperatif

Gerard Zafilaza

• president of ADAPS cooperation in Mivoatra

• Commune Rural de Benavony, district Ambanja 203

• 1ha, divided in 2 parts

• 7km from Ambanja (we stopped with the bike their and talked to his wife)

Issouf

• +261 (0)33 29 13 275

• president of ADAPS cooperation in New Antanambao, next to the river Ambahatra

• about 800 people live in Old and New Antanambao (before the flood 2000 and more)

• New Antanambao is located closer to the mountains (very small village with shop, everybody is farmer: rice, casava, zebu, cocoa, no electricity, no running water, phone connection only Air Tel, cinema evenings with Issouf's TV on the veranda powered by generator, bathing, dish washing, laundry all in river Ambahatra, self-sufficient farmers, in nearby village (2km) 2 schools)

• 2ha new plantation since 2009 (old was destroyed by the flood, no soil anymore, just sand) - mixed with few older cocoa trees

• cocoa trees, coffee, banana, vanilla

• grows all 3 types of cocoa

• part of MAZAVA cooperative (in the south) - produce 3t cocoa a year

• 3 generations of cocoa farming: father - Issouf - son

• used to grow vanilla, today only cocoa

Cocoa

• soft, white fruit flesh of cocoa pods (pulp) is sugar sweet and full of Vitamin C - kids like to eat it as a sweet

• quality of cocoa does not depend on the colour of the pods

• most fruits grow on tree stem, others on branches

• careful harvesting of cocoa pods - the fruit needs to be cut off minimum 0.5mm from the stem to not damage the floral button - a new flower grows out of the floral button - careful cutting to ensure to not destroy the next flower

• first fruits 4-5 years after the tree was planted

• new plants are cherished (aufgezogen) in tree nursery for 6 months, starting in May - planted on plantation in November, sometimes in December in rainy season

• cocoa trees grow in the shade of larger trees

• cocoa tree is evergreen, never looses all leaves

• cocoa trees flower and fruit all year round, best season starts in May (dry season)

• ants pollinate the flowers

• cocoa grows best at an average temperature of 25C/30C

• too much rain ruins the trees (roots rot) and less flowers bloom

• young branches need to be cut off from the stem, they steel energy and the flower can not really develop

• old trees are cut 60/70cm from the ground - new stem will grow next to it

• 3 main problems which affect the harvest:

 1) thieves steel pods, sometimes even unripe fruits, in the night
 2) zebus (local cattle) eat fruits and/or rub their bodies against the stem and thereby ruin the flowers and smaller fruits
 3) nocturnal lemurs like to eat the fruits
 4) insects eat young cocoa fruits from inside (no spraying, otherwise not bio)

CRIOLLO

• rare species, grows only in rainy regions (highlands)

• very sensitive and not very fruitful (fertile)

• tender (delicate) flavour - especially suitable for chocolates with a high percentage of cocoa

• a cut Criollo bean is light (white) coloured

• Procelana - best cocoa in the world

• Ocumare - a crossing with Trinitario

• 5%-10% of worldwide produced cocoa

• pod is uneven, looks like herpes

• most of the Criollo pods in Ambanja are red
  
  

FORASTERO

• more resistant (robust) than Criolio

• more bitter flavour - mainly used for milk chocolate, cocoa powder

• 80% of world production

• pod has a rounder form, smooth surface

• ripe pod is yellow

• a cut Forastero bean is violett

• produces more cocoa
  
  

TRINITARIO

• relatively recent crossing of Criollo and Forastero - combines the high quality and resistant of both types (hybrid)

• most common cocoa in Madagascar

• a cut Trinitario bean is dark

• 10% of worldwide produced cocoa

• ripe pod is yellow-orange

Cocoa farming to chocolate

• in the morning harvesting of fruits with a special knife that has a round peak similar to a hook

• the farmer carefully chops of the fruit to not harm the Samenkissen

• opening of the pods with harvest knife - about 50 seeds in each fruit

• separating the beans from the soft, white fruit flesh by hand

• fermentation - thereby the fruit flesh evaporates/vaporises

• quality matter - same size of beans ensures a evenly fermentation

• due to high sugar amount of fruit flesh fermentation immediately begins (a temperature of up to 50C develops)

• very important is the shifting of the beans to add necessary oxygen for the chemical process

• 6-7 days of fermentation usually in a 3-level fermentation devise - every 2nd day the fermenting beans are shuffled from the higher box into the lower box (easy mixing)

• drying of the beans in the sun for 1-2 weeks, 5 days in dry season - 10 days in rainy season

• drying makes the beans durable and storeable

• weight of beans reduces to about half or even less throughout the drying process

• moisture content reduces down to 7%

• sun affect the flavour of the beans - one of the most important production steps - beans have to dry equally/steady (should not be too dry outside and still moist inside - danger of mould)

• too fast drying creates unwanted flavours

• after drying selecting of the beans by hand to sort out rotten or damaged beans

• packed in sacks - beans are very sensible and for ideal transport and storing the beans should have a water moisture of 6-8% and humidity should not be over 75% (danger of mould)

• darker, violette dry beans are less fermented - more fruity flavour

• roasting - beans loos more moisture through chemical process which is essential for taste and flavour of the chocolate

• at 105C the cocoa flavour evolves

• grinding - crushing of the beans and separating the shell/peel

• result are cocoa nibs

• once more grinding of cocoa nibs - liquid cocoa mass results

• mixing with other ingredients (such as sugar, milk powder, vanilla)

• conching for softness - oxygen and heat detract/deprive the last moisture from the mass

• at the end of the conching the moisture level is less than 1%

• cooling down of liquid chocolate

• filling moulding forms or store for other use

Chocolate

• in Madagascar chocolate dominate the flavours of red berries and citrus fruits

Issouf - an independent cocoa farmer in the Sambirano Valley

Some of the worlds finest cocoa grows in the Sambirano region in northern Madagascar. Between 4,000 and 5,000 tons of dry, quality cocoa are produced yearly in the area. Nearly 80% of the harvest are cultivated by independent farmers. ROBERT works in close cooperation with about 120 independent farmers, which supply the company with premium quality cocoa. One of them is Issouf.

Issouf lives with his family in New Antanambao, a small village in the Sambirano Valley, about 47km south of Ambanja. As a boy he learned everything about cocoa from his father, who had a plantation behind the village just next to the Ambahatra river. A big flood in 2004 and 2005 devastated about 600ha of cocoa farmland in the area, including his father's plantation. Heavy rainfall caused erosion and washed sand from the mountains into the valley. The otherwise good, fertile soil was covered by sand and is since then unusable for farming purposes.

In 2009 Issouf created a new plantation further away from the village. Beside already existing older cocoa trees he planted new trees in the shade of fruit trees next to coffee shrubs, banana trees and vanilla. On his plantation all three types of cocoa grow: Criollo, Forastero and Trinitario.

In the Sambirano region grows all year round with two peak seasons for harvesting - in June, July and October, November. Depending on the season, Issouf goes daily or twice a week together with his children and wife to the plantation to harvest ripe cocoa pods. Most fruits grow directly on the stem, others on branches. For harvesting Issouf uses a special harvest machete with a round peak, similar to a hook. He has to be very careful when harvesting the pods. The ripe fruits need to be cut off minimum 5mm from the stem not to damage the floral button, from which a new flower will grow. Thereafter he and his family open the pods and separate the wet beans from the shell. The wet beans are brought to a fermenting and drying station.

There are no fertilizers used on Issouf's plantation. All the cocoa growing there is 100% organic.

Behind his house Issouf has a small tree nursery, where he cherishes not only new cocoa trees but also fast-growing trees. Together with other villagers he plants the fast-growing trees on the mountain slopes to prevent future erosion which could destroy the plantations again. For Issouf, as many other self-sufficient farmers, cocoa is an important cash crop which is indispensable to improve their living conditions.

From Bean to Bar

Chocolaterie Robert purchases its organic and fine quality cocoa from the farms of about 120 independent farmers in the Sambirano Valley in the north of Madagascar. The fertile north is the hottest and wettest region of Madagascar. The near location to the equator, the regular rainfall especially in the months from December to March and the average temperature of 25°C are the ideal conditions for growing cocoa. Most of the farmers are cocoa farmers in 2nd or 3rd generation. Cocoa farming is often a family business and depending on the size of the plantation, the entire family helps to harvest and process the cocoa.

In the Sambirano region all three types of cocoa grow: Criollo, Forastero and Trinitario. Criollo is a rare species, which only grows in rainy regions such as at the foot of the mountains in the Sambirano valley. Criollo is a very sensitive and not very fruitful species. Compared with the other cocoa species, the Criollo pods have an uneven surface. The beans have a delicate flavour which is especially suitable for chocolates with a high percentage of cocoa. A cut Criollo bean has an almost white colour inside.

Forastero is more resilient than Criollo and therefore easier to farm. The Forastero species produces more cocoa than Criollo or Trinitario. The pods have a rounder form and a smooth surface. Unfortunately Forastero has a more bitter flavour and is therefore mainly used for milk chocolate or cocoa powder. A cut Forastero bean is violette.

Trinitario is a relatively recent crossing between Criollo and Forastero and therefore combines the high quality of Criollo with the resistance of Forastero. Trinitario is the most common cocoa in Madagascar. A cut Trinitario bean is dark.

The soft, white fruit pulp of a ripe cocoa pod is sugar sweet and rich in Vitamin C. Children, but also adults, like to chew on fresh pulps.

Cocoa trees grow best in the shade of other trees, such as fruit trees, acacia or wild ylang-ylang. Most of the cocoa fruits grow on the tree stem, others on branches. The quality of cocoa does not depend on the colour of the pods. Ripe cocoa fruits can be harvested throughout the entire year. Harvesting usually takes place in the morning hours, whereby the farmer carefully chops the fruit of their stems with a special harvesting knife (a type of machete with a round peak, similar to a hook). The farmer needs to be very careful not to harm the floral button, from where a new flower will grow. Thereafter the farmer opens the pod and separates the beans from the fruit pulp by hand. Each fruit contains about 50 seeds.

The fresh cocoa beans are brought to a fermentation station, which is usually a 3-level wooden fermentation device. The beans are thrown into the upper wooden box and every second day they are shuffled by hand from the higher box into the lower box. The fermentation is one of the most important steps in the production procedure of quality cocoa. Due to the high sugar contents of the fruit pulp the fermentation begins immediately. During the 6 to 7 days of fermentation a temperature of up to 50°C develops and the fruit pulp evaporates. The shifting of the beans is very important in order to add necessary oxygen for the right chemical process to occur. Beans of the same size ensure an even fermentation.

After the fermentation the beans are dried for 1 to 2 weeks in the direct sun (5 days in the dry season and 10 days in the rainy season). The sun affects the flavour of the beans. The beans must dry equally and steadily and are therefore turned upside down several times a day. The drying makes the beans durable and storable. Insufficiently dried beans are just dry outside and still moist inside and will easily moulder. Too fast drying creates unwanted flavours. Throughout the drying process the weight of the beans reduces to about half or even less and the moisture content is reduced to 7%.

After drying, the beans are selected by hand to sort out rotten or damaged beans. Thereafter the dry beans are packed into sacks and transported to the factory. For ideal transport and storing the beans should have a moisture of 6-8% and the humidity of the storage should not exceed 75%.

Mail Hery

For the Chocolate Factory Robert, before 2004, the plant is provided with RAMANANDRAIBE Export, which in turn is provided with peasant producers.

But the quality was so bad that RAMANANDRAIBE Export decided to form a cooperative of farmers, and provide technical and framing materials (fermentation tank, tractor to remove the pods, ...).

In 2004, after a campaign by Valrhona Cocoa Madagascar, there was great enthusiasm on cocoa rare, fine cocoa and very aromatic.

(Valrhona is a French chocolate maker famous for its fine chocolates, a competitor of Barry Callebaut, the first global chocolate).

The campaign was based on the fact that a local Sambirano is quite unique, allowing for a rate greater than 10% Criollo at each harvest.

Valrhona but did not reveal that they provided only with major concessions as Millot or ASPM, the only companies that provide excellent preparation of cocoa beans.

Farmers do not ferment well cocoa, and do not dry well too ... the quality is not the same.

However, Millot and ASPM produce only 1/5th only cocoa production in Madagascar.

The rest is produced by farmers.

However, cocoa from Madagascar was deemed among the cocoas in the world (such as cocoa from Venezuela, Chuao of Mexico ....) after the campaign launched by Valrhona, which has resulted in great enthusiasm on this cocoa from Madagascar.

The great chocolate as Cluizel, Rusch, Amano, Patric Rober, Pralus ... rushed to Sambirano to source the very famous bean.

So, between 2004 and 2009, cocoa from Madagascar has experienced great expansion in the world of chocolate, its price exceeds even the price of the stock exchange of London Cocoa. And accordingly, there were two major problems:

- There is too much demand relative to supply

- Farmers are the quantity but not quality: they want to earn money as quickly as possible and collectors, knowing nothing about the art of cocoa preparation, drive them to constantly produce, produce, produce, ...

Following preparation of this problem, the European chocolate were disappointed about the quality of Madagascan cocoa in late 2009. Most of them have given up trying to make chocolate "Madagascar". After the fall of Madagascan vanilla, cocoa comes the turn of the Malagasy.

And since the price of cocoa in Ambanja has steadily declined to reach the minimum price the year 2012.

And the conclusion is: when the price is very high, the quality is bad, but when the price is very low, the quality is good.

The problem with peasant producers is that they need money every day to meet their needs (because of poverty) and therefore, they can not wait for time to prepare good cocoa (about 20 to 24 days). They sell, even at half the length of preparation.

The Chocolate Robert suffered a lot of these problems in Ambanja cocoa, a complex problem, which appears from without.

So here's the approach it has adopted: select a better coordinator - collector cocoa Ambanja (among those of Rama Export) and contract with him for periodic deliveries in cocoa. The contract states "the observance of quality standards" test cutting beans.

Once a delivery does not meet the standards, it is denied and not paid.

But if it meets the standards, the Chocolate Factory Robert pays a premium-collector that the coordinator must épercuter farmers he has taken care to select.

The coordinator-collector must indeed select good peasants, otherwise it will fail to meet standards.

René Julien collection especially on medium and high Sambirano. For the low Sambirano, cocoa is mainly CNIA, a former concession of the state, which is being privatized.

And to meet the quality, the chocolate has given to Mr. Robert Rene Julien a tester cup, which allows him to control consignments that are delivered by farmers. A moisture meter is also available from Mr. Rene Julien and a 4 x 4 and a motorcycle for his tours in the countryside, in the plantations.

Upon receipt of the beans in the factory, the production manager performs a cutting test, a moisture test and a test to check the roast quality beans. Only after these tests that cocoa is accepted or not.

But this is still improving: the quality of chocolate is prepared from harvesting cocoa pods (which must be in good maturity), then fermentation and sun drying.

Thus, with René Julien, we're a team in Ambanja, to allow daily monitoring of cocoa preparation.