When cocoa was king in Tobago

Dr Rita Pemberton

The historical experience of Tobago’s cocoa industry differs from that in Trinidad.

Cocoa cultivation in Trinidad was facilitated by Governor Gordon’s Crown land policy, which aimed to deal with a major squatting problem during the post-emancipation period. Gordon reduced the price of state land to £1 per acre for a minimum of five acres and significantly simplified the land sale process.

The scheme was first implemented in the Montserrat area and included in the first purchasers were Spanish peons, residual First People population who as traditional users, had experience in the cultivation of cocoa, freed Africans and immigrants from other Caribbean islands. These small landholders engaged in cocoa cultivation which was established as a small operator's crop with only a few large estates becoming involved in the business.

Between 1840 and 1866, the cocoa industry was initially mildly prosperous after which, propelled by Cadbury's interest and the growth of US demand, a boom occurred and the demand for Trinidad’s flavouring cocoa soared. The fortunes of the cocoa industry were further enhanced by the depression in the sugar industry which until then was the island’s major export crop. The decline of the sugar industry facilitated increased availability of land, labour and financial resources to the cocoa industry which simulated boom conditions in 1870 and by the end of the century, cocoa outstripped sugar as the island’s dominant export crop.

Between the 1840s and 1920, after Venezuela and Ecuador, Trinidad was the third largest producer of cocoa in the world. This crop dominated the island’s economy from 1866 to 1920, and its production remained primarily in the hands of the small operators.

However, after 1920 when Trinidad’s production peaked at 75 million pounds, there was a decline in world demand and overproduction which was caused by increased production in West Africa, causing a drastic fall in cocoa prices on the international market. In addition, prices were further negatively affected by the Great Depression of the 1920s while the incidence of Witches Broom disease reduced production levels. At the same time, there occurred an increase in world sugar prices which re-invigorated the sugar industry and the growth of the oil industry which created competition for labour and offered wages that the cocoa industry could not match. Hence, from the1930s as the Trinidad cocoa industry struggled, efforts were made to strengthen the industry with the formation of a Cocoa Board in 1945 and attempts to rehabilitate the industry to reverse the decline in production which occurred between 1969 and 1986.

While the Trinidad cocoa industry was enjoying boom years the Tobago cocoa industry was being encouraged. As a possible export crop, cocoa production was introduced to Tobago after the crash of the sugar industry in 1884. The demise of the sugar industry left several abandoned estates which were subdivided and sold to the freed African population thereby establishing a landed peasantry on the island. The demise of the sugar industry released the hold of the large plantations on the island’s land resources whose owners had sought to prevent the freed Africans from acquiring land to keep them as wage labourers for the paltry wages that were offered to estate workers in post-emancipation Tobago. Hence the Tobago cocoa industry was birthed by small peasant farmers who were the island’s newest landowners and who were able to function without the competition for the island’s land and labour resources from large estates.

Cultivation was encouraged by the island’s administration through the provision of a cocoa instructor to train the farmers in the proper methods of cocoa husbandry and provided the services of the Botanic Gardens which served as a training centre for cocoa farmers and the source of planting material for distribution across the island. Grenadians, who had experience in cocoa cultivation, were encouraged to migrate to Tobago to assist in the development of the island’s cocoa industry. The new cocoa farmers encountered several problems, particularly in the processing of the cocoa beans which was a very important step in determining the level of profitability of the enterprise. They lacked funding to establish the industry, particularly for survival during the period between planting and harvesting a crop. In addition, cocoa producers were prone to larceny of their processed beans by thieves who stole the dried beans and sold them to dealers.

Cocoa could be sold as wet or dry cocoa. Wet cocoa attracted the lowest market prices, and the dealers deducted for dampness, mildew and any signs of discolouration on the beans. There were two grades of dry cocoa: the ordinary grade which was the classification for beans which were not of the best quality. The plantation grade, which was the highest quality beans, were smooth of even colour and without blemishes. The final stage of processing the beans was called “dancing the cocoa.” This was a polishing act which ensured that the beans were rounded smooth and made attractive with every bit of dried pulp, leaves or other extraneous material removed. This practice became a community tradition which was embraced in the annual Tobago Heritage Festival in 1987. Despite the low cocoa prices during the 1930s, when it sold for six cents per pound in 1931, cocoa remained “king” in Tobago. This occurred for several reasons.

Aside from cultivation as an economic activity, the social role of the cocoa industry in Tobago must be recognised. Firstly the crop could be cultivated and processed as a family operation. It provided a good alternative to the estate labour on coconut or cocoa estates which was the only other employment option on the island. The industry offered other forms of employment to individuals as buying agents usually to shopkeepers in the communities. These agents provided credit to residents and loans in some instances, because funding was one of the common problems the cocoa cultivators of Tobago faced.

Selling cocoa provided the means for the poor farmer to repay loans which were acquired from shops, cocoa dealers or estates. Africans of Tobago who were determined to make its cultivation successful utilised “Tobago Togetherness” a tendency to cooperate to overcome difficulties, which was demonstrated during the challenging years of the operation of the metayage system.

To overcome their difficulties and produce quality cocoa beans which attracted the best prices on the market, the cocoa farmers agreed to establish cocoa fermentaries in the districts in which the beans of all the farmers in the community were processed. In this way, the labour of the individual farmer was reduced, and the quality of the crop was improved for all contributors. Three successful fermentaries were established in Tobago. The first was established in the district of Pembroke in 1927 which was followed by the Roxborough Fermentary in 1932 and the Delaford Fermentary in 1934. Not only did the fermentaries result in an improvement in the quality of cocoa produced, and an increase in the earnings of the producers but there was also an increase in the quantity of cocoa produced in Tobago because all the districts recorded an increase in production.

The cocoa producers were freed from further indebtedness because they were paid advances and they suffered no further deduction for poor quality. Crop prices were paid in two tranches, an initial assessed value and a final payment which was popularly called the "cocoa cess” was paid after the crop was sold and the final price determined. This was usually paid in December and was inextricably wound into Tobago’s Christmas celebrations.

Cocoa production assumed importance in the colony because the Tobago cocoa industry became fully established when the Trinidad industry had lost its position of economic dominance and its production was significantly reduced. During the period 1933 to 1937, Tobago contributed 1,329 metric tonnes of cocoa or 8.3 per cent of the colony’s exports and 20 per cent in 1946-1950 and remained “king” supporting the livelihood of many on the island until its contribution to national production was decimated by Hurricane Flora in 1963.