Those of us who work in and with the industry sometimes forget that the outside world doesn’t necessarily know what we know, particularly when it comes to chocolate.

Mars, Inc. plans to triple its global cocoa yield through developing more disease-resistant clones and continuing to improve farmer practices based on genetic knowledge of cocoa.

In February, Associate Editor Alyse Thompson visited Finca El Cacao, a 2,500-hectare cocoa plantation in Nicaragua owned and operated by Alfred Ritter GmbH & Co. KG. The company, eager to open up its supply chain and highlight its progress in the Central American country, brought Alyse and German journalists to the plantation to show them how they do things.

The Hershey Co. has launched the Cocoa For Good program, a comprehensive cocoa sustainability strategy designed to address the most pressing issues facing cocoa-growing communities: poverty, poor nutrition, at-risk youth and vulnerable ecosystems.

CocoaAction began collecting data and rolling out community development and productivity practices last year. And they’ve made progress, according to the program’s new annual report, but there’s still a long way to go.

Cocoa producers, researchers, industry executives, government officials, and civil society organizations, gather to participate in these talks. The discussions will explore how chocolate manufacturing is influenced by cocoa quality standards, direct sourcing and the mapping of cocoa flavor characteristics.

Swiss chocolate manufacturer Barry Callebaut has joined forces with the International Finance Corp. (IFC) and IDH, the Sustainable Trade Initiative, for a $9-million, risk-sharing program that will help small cocoa farmers in Cote d’Ivoire lay the foundation for a strong financial future.

 Royal Duyvis Wiener announced it will partner with one of Peru’s largest cocoa farmer cooperatives, Cooperativa Naranillo de Cacao y Café (Coopain). By investing $3.3 million, Coopain looks to increase production capacity by 400%.