To safeguard the future of the cocoa trade and industry and to ensure the consumer receives high quality chocolate products, there is a need to ensure continuing supplies of good quality cocoa at prices which provide a worthwhile return to all those involved in the cocoa chain, from growers through to chocolate manufacturers. It is currently estimated that 70% of the world’s cocoa is grown by small farmers using traditional labour-intensive systems of husbandry. Improvements in productivity are therefore largely dependent on the work of the Research Institutes in the producing countries and of the few plantation companies who have expertise and facilities. However, much work still remains to be done to ensure that cocoa production meets world demand, especially in the face of high pest and disease pressures and changes in land use patterns. Therefore, Cocoa Research (UK) has taken an important role in supplementing the cocoa research financed by producing countries and ensuring that the results of this research are disseminated to the whole cocoa community. .