COCOA In Vitro PROpagation

Project Information

COCOAPRO

Grant agreement ID: 717406

DOI

10.3030/717406

Project closed

EC signature date 4 March 2016

Start date 1 April 2016

End date 30 September 2016

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine, maritime and inland water research, and the bioeconomy

Total cost

€ 71 429,00

EU contribution

€ 50 000,00

Coordinated by

BOEREBOOM INVITRO PORTUGAL, UNIPESSOAL LDA
Portugal

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - COCOAPRO (COCOA In Vitro PROpagation)

Reporting period: 2016-04-01 to 2016-09-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Boereboom Invitro Portugal has developed an ambitious innovative commercial project that provides the best solution for the cocoa market fragility - a new cocoa planting material from tissue culture. Boereboom goal is to produce rooted cocoa tissue culture plants with higher quality, higher productivity rate, as well as address the challenges that cocoa production has been facing. COCOA in vitro PROpagation meets H2020 objectives in terms of employment, market, environment impact and social development. With this project Boereboom aims to launch an innovative product which is expected to have a global impact, thus becoming a tremendous market success in the European economy.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

This report presents how a crop, traditionally produced by small farmers, with notoriously vulnerability to diseases and pests, can be economically produced on industrial scaled-up.
Work performed and main results achieved:
1. Market Analysis and Study
Europe is the main cocoa consumer
The cocoa productivity and quality are decreasing due to diseases and low harvest rates
The producing areas are Africa, South-eastern Asia, Central America and South America
Boereboom fills the gap for the cocoa value chain
European agro-companies’ prospection
New demands for cocoa in parapharma, cosmetic and superfood qualification
2. Business Opportunity
To empower a new European market
Methodology applicable to other plants/crops
3. IPR Study
Community Plant Variety Right
Plant Variety Protection Office
International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants
The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
The sterilization protocols of the plants and medium protocols IP
4. Business Plan
New business plan with fewer risks

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Boereboom’s product provides significant progression beyond the state-of-art since no other propagation methodology can provide the same quality characteristics. This project represents the early stages in the development of a new industry for European markets. Boereboom’s new cocoa plant material offers several advantages over its competitors, mainly better performance, large-scale productions of pathogen and disease-free plants; reduced water consumption; year-round availability of plants apart from seasonal constraints.

Boereboom's plant stock

Boereboom Invitro Portugal_Cocoa in vitro propagation

Boereboom Invitro Portugal laboratory