Challenges in the development of the cocoa and chocolate industry in Indonesia: A case study in Madiun, East Java

The development of the cocoa agroindustry in Indonesia is of considerable importance to respond the global demand for high quality cocoa beans and cocoa-derived products. This study analyzes the issues concerning the cocoa production in Indonesia, including cocoa productivity, postharvest treatments, and smallholder farmer profitability, in order to confirm the theories regarding cocoa farming previously published in many works as well as to offer insights into challenges for future cocoa farming and cocoa downstream industry development in Indonesia. A simple random sampling method was used to select a total of 25 cocoa farmers from the five regions in Madiun, East Java. The selected farmers were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire consisting of 39 questions regarding demographic and farm characteristics, farm management and postharvest practices, and farm training and social capital. The results indicated that approximately 40% of farmers are 60 years old and over. Besides, most of the cocoa farmers (76%) have not received any proper education or have attended to primary school only. Furthermore, according to the data, the cocoa productivity is inversely correlated with the farm size. Finally, almost half of the farmers in Madiun sell their cocoa beans as non-fermented. From this study, it was clear that in order to improve the quality of cocoa beans, farmers should be encouraged to improve agricultural practices and postharvest processes. This research gives empirical evidence of some constraints for high-quality cocoa production in Indonesia.