Verticalities and horizontalities in the certification of organic cocoa production in the South of Bahia

Abstract

The present research deals with the new dynamics of regional specialization of cocoa production in the southern state of Bahia. Since the so-called "cocoa crisis", it has been possible to observe the spread of new forms of cocoa production in the region, among which stands out the production of certified organic cocoa. This form of production is aligned with the phenomenon known as de-commoditisation of agricultural production, a process that brings as a characteristic the valorization of the specific forms of local production, the pursuit for the construction of a greater autonomy and identity of the producers and, in the case of the south of Bahia, established since the 1980 as a strategy to overcome the crisis experienced by the region. Through the presentation of the experiences of the Cabruca Cooperative and the Rede Povos da Mata, we sought to analyze two different types of certification of organic cocoa production in southern Bahia, certification by auditing and participatory certification. Our intention with the analysis of these different experiences was to evaluate to what extent the adoption of different models of control of certified production can allow the producer and the region to obtain a greater autonomy (political and economic), to become less subordinated to the market conventional agricultural commodities and to promote more equal regional development.