World on the verge of a chocolate crisis!

According to David Guest from the University of Sydney's Faculty of Agriculture and Environment, farming methods used by cacao bean growers are in dire need of modernisation.

Get it while you can: The world is on the brink of a chocolate crisis, experts have warned.u00a0

He warns that global production of cacao, the raw ingredient in chocolate, must increase nearly a quarter by 2020 to keep up with demand from China and other rising economies. However, cacao growing regions remain some of the most undeveloped and unstable parts of the world and farmers face significant challenges in bringing production up to speed.

Dark, delicious and decadent, the rich flavour of chocolate has inspired passions, addictions and even literature for more than three thousand years. Not just appetising, it also has known health benefits. However the main cacao-producing regions are West Africa, South America, Southeast Asia and the Pacific, all areas vulnerable to threats of climate change, political instability, pests and diseases.

Guest and his colleagues have travelled to some of these areas to promote sustainable farming practices for the prized bean. He has worked with farmers to select better cacao genotypes, to teach improved methods of crop and soil management and find out what can be done to improve technical support. Without education and access to modern methods, these growers face falling being unable to keep up with rising demand. "One estimate is that global production will need to increase by one million tonnes per year by 2020 to meet global demand," said Guest.