Accelerated propagation
We have nearly 700 of our own Agronomists (agriculturists who specialise in growing crops) who work directly with around 600,000 farmers in 40 countries, resulting in improved production quality, output and efficiency
Nestlé plant experts developed this process to propagate both coffee and
cocoa plants. In effect, once you’ve identified a tree, you can make
thousands of identical trees, with no genetic modification.
For coffee the process uses leaves, but for cocoa it uses unopened flower
buds to start the process. There’s a never-ending source of these buds as
cocoa trees flower for about six months of the year.
Sourcing the buds
These buds, about 4 – 5mm long and 2 – 3mm wide, are sourced from trees carefully selected by Nestlé. We look for those that are high yielding, disease resistant and have the desired flavour potential. After collection, the buds are speedily sent in low-temperature refrigerated transport to our R&D Centre in Tours, France as they need to start the propagation process within three to four days of picking.
The accelerated propagation process
The propagation process is based on control over the conditions, especially high
humidity, the right temperature and correct amount of light. The process starts in
darkness and over time develops to full light. A single bud produces multiple embryos
that quickly develop into tiny plantlets, which are transferred into bigger glass containers
as they grow.
Once the seedlings are large enough, about 4 – 5cm , they are moved to the
greenhouse where they quickly start their acclimatisation to normal growth conditions,
before being shipped to nurseries in the cocoa producing countries.
The accelerated propagation process was originally developed by a young Mexican
scientist working on his thesis at our Nestlé Research and Development Centre in Tours,
France back in 1990. Since then it has been adapted and improved and is now well
suited to large scale propagation. The cocoa propagation facility in Tours is the most
advanced of its kind in the world, and is currently being expanded with more laboratory
and greenhouse space.
The propagation process in Indonesia
Teguh Wayudi, Director of ICCRI
Teguh Wayudi, Director of ICCRI (Indonesia Coffee Cocoa Research Institute) is holding a higher quality cocoa tree produced using Nestlé’s accelerated propagation process. At five months old around 50 centimetres high it’s ready to be planted in a farmers field
Apart from plant propagation in Tours, the process is also being used in
Indonesia where after a year’s training in Tours, an Indonesian research
scientist with the Indonesia Coffee Cocoa Research Institute (ICCRI) has
established a laboratory and started producing plants at the beginning
of last year. Using Nestlé technology, the plan is to produce and distribute millions of trees using this method over the next few
years.
Much of Nestlé’s efforts are based around refining and improving the
process in order to be even more productive. We are sharing this innovative
technology with others around the world.
The benefits of accelerated propagation
Trees produced by this process have several benefits:
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They bear pods earlier – just 18 months after planting out in the field.
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They produce higher yields – not only quicker, but reaching their full
potential after four or five years. Properly looked after and well
pruned, it’s not exceptional to achieve yields of two tons of cocoa
beans per hectare compared with only 300 to 500 kilos per hectare.
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They are more tolerant to drought. In the 2005 severe drought in
Ecuador, unlike other trees, cocoa trees grown by the
accelerated propagation process kept their leaves and survived.
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They have an excellent and uniform tree structure with a strong trunk,
tap root and root system and a well-developed canopy. This makes
them easier to manage and gives better accessibility for pruning,
spraying and harvesting. All in all, they’re more vigorous
and robust and react better if disease attacks.
Benefits to farmers & industry
For farmers, it means a tangible improvement including:
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Better quality and higher yields of cocoa beans
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Less tree / pod disease so less need for costly pesticides
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Greater efficiency and more income
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Better quality of life for families and greater likelihood of children
going to school instead of working on the cocoa farm
For the industry, it’s a highly effective way to assure long-term sustainability
coupled with overall better quality.
Today at Nestlé we use accelerated propagation to produce our higher quality cocoa
trees for farmers in Côte d’Ivoire and other countries. Looking to the future,
we’re investigating other propagation techniques that will complement this
process and help further to increase the impact of this important tree
distribution programme.
