Historical
perspective
Cocoa research was initiated at St. Augustine,
Trinidad in 1930 at the Imperial College
of Tropical Agriculture (established in
1921) as the 'Cocoa Research Scheme', envisioned
to be one of several Agricultural Research
Stations formed to serve the various tropical
regions by doing long range research not
usually pursued by the agricultural departments
of colonial governments. Proposed in 1927
and approved in 1930, the 'Cocoa Research
Scheme' was to be financed jointly by the
governments of Ceylon, Gold Coast, Grenada,
Nigeria and Trinidad and also by chocolate
manufacturers, Cadbury Bros. Ltd., J.S.
Fry and Sons Ltd., and Rowntree and Co.
During the ensuing decade, "Trinidad and
Tobago was the most lavish patron of cocoa
research and led the world in its scientific
contribution to basic knowledge of the cocoa
tree." Though research in cocoa has been
continuous since the inauguration of the
'Cocoa Research Scheme,' "changing economic
and political conditions" some thirty years
after its initiation caused the cocoa industry
to suffer a decline in both quantitative
and scientific output. This coincided with
the 'Cocoa Research Scheme' coming under
the aegis of The University of The West
Indies and a redirection of its research
programmes towards regional problems. In
terms of decline however, the Cocoa Research
Scheme, now titled the Cocoa Research Unit
(CRU) was most affected during the period
1975-80 when dwindling financial resources
seriously threatened the future outlook
and restricted research activities due to
the forced reduction in staff numbers. Consequently
a re-structuring of the unit was undertaken
and with the re-constitution of the Cocoa
Research Advisory Committee, EDF funding
and the aid of consultants to formulate
cost-effective research programmes to solve
problems of cocoa production, CRU survived
the decline to become today a vibrant institution
with strong international ties and an important
role in contributing to current research
in cocoa as well as maintaining its mandate
to conserve, characterise, evaluate, utilise
and distribute material from its internationally
recognised germplasm collection designated
the International
Cocoa Germplasm, Trinidad (ICG,T). |
CRU
is a department in the Faculty of Science and
Agriculture (FSA) of the University of the West
Indies (UWI). It is responsible for maintenance
of the International Cocoa Genebank, Trinidad
(ICG,
T) around which on-going research
activities of characterisation, evaluation and
utilization are centred. The Cocoa Research Unit
currently employs a staff of 23, among which are
13 university graduates; and hosts one visiting
scientist from CIRAD, France. CRU is now under the leadership of a new Head, Professor Pathmanathan Umaharan. Professor Umaharan was appointed on March 1st, 2010 after a long recruitment period to fill the position left void by former Director, Dr. David Butler who retired in 2008.
The
management of CRU is overseen by the Cocoa Research
Advisory Committee, which includes respresentatives
from CRU, CIRAD,
UWI and the
GORTT. Research activities include germplasm
conservation, morphological and molecular characterisation
of cacao accessions, screening of germplasm for
resistance to diseases, germplasm enhancement
(pre-breeding for desirable traits), and quality
and flavour assessment. In addition to research,
CRU offers training to visitors and facilities
for scientists from other organisations. We are
responsible for managing the International Cocoa
Genebank, Trinidad (ICG,
T)
and for the Barbados
Cocoa Quarantine Station.
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