Though chocolate has consistently remained one of the world's most sought-after treats, the price of cocoa has fluctuated wildly in recent years, going from staggering highs to crushing lows.
Currently, prices have dropped so low that bags of cocoa beans have been left to rot in West African warehouses, according to Fortune.
What's happening?
After a surge in prices that reached as high as $13,000 per ton, cocoa prices have since cratered to current levels of only about $4,000 per ton, per Fortune. The crash has particularly hurt cocoa farmers in Ghana and Ivory Coast, which together account for about 70% of the world's cocoa production.
In response, cocoa farmers have been forced to put their lands to alternative uses in order to make ends meet. One farmer took money from illegal gold miners in exchange for allowing them to use a portion of his land. Similarly, another accepted payment from illegal sand miners, despite knowing that their operations would render the soil infertile, according to Fortune.
"Cocoa is not selling, but farmers still need to feed their families," said Moussa Koné, president of the Ivorian cocoa farmers' union, per Fortune.
Why does the price of cocoa matter?
The challenges impacting West African cocoa farmers and the hard choices they are facing as a result offer a glimpse of what a growing number of farmers around the globe are likely to face in coming years.
With weather patterns changing, many regions that once proved ideal for growing certain crops are rapidly becoming less so.
In West Africa, cocoa farmers have been hit with a combination of economic factors and environmental ones.
Manu Yaw Fofie, a 52-year-old cocoa farmer, has seen annual yields fall from approximately 300 bags of cocoa per year down to about 50. Cocoa crops have been harmed by everything from lack of rain to disease, according to Fortune.
Farmers are not the only ones hurt by fluctuating crop yields and prices. Everyday consumers have seen rising prices at the grocery store, and regional economies can also suffer as a result.
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While the governments of Ghana and Ivory Coast have taken steps to help farmers, there is only so much they can do.
"Preparation allows you to mitigate a crisis," said Edward Karaweh, former general secretary of the General Agricultural Union, according to Fortune. "It is not that you prevent the crisis altogether."
Still, recognizing the risks posed by changing weather patterns and other challenges can help regions, countries, and farmers better prepare for what is to come.
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