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Protecting Cacao Trees from Phytophthora

The Cocoa Crisis

The cocoa industry is facing devastating pests and diseases worldwide. This threatens the entire cocoa supply chain, from bean to bar

One of the
Culprits?

Caused by Phytophthora species, it devastates cacao trees across the globe. It is responsible for:

Up to

of the loss of cacao

pods and up to 10% loss of cocoa trees

Costs

of losses yearly

The Farmers

Smallholder farmers bear the cost of this disease, as 90% of cacao is produced by 5-6 million small-scale farmers

As 60-90% of their income comes from cacao, these farmers are extremely dependent on the cocoa yield

Meanwhile, global demand for chocolate continues to grow. This mismatch between increasing demand and declining production is unsustainable

Chocolate is at risk, and so are the communities behind it

Current solutions such as chemical fungicides, cutting and pruning and selective breeding are ineffective, expensive or damage the environment

This is why we are introducing...

An engineered Bacillus subtilis that detects Phytophthora, and responds by secreting antimicrobial peptides. This forms a living shield against black pod disease

Want to know more? Explore our project!

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