Cocoa farmers in Ghana are testing new ways to grow crops as changing weather patterns hurt yields.
These include Samuel Davor, a cocoa farmer in Sefwi Wiawso, a village in the Ghana Forest.
He is still suitable for the age of 67, and he attributes his physical health to the daily labor of his cocoa garden, which covers two football fields in size.
Cocoa has a long way to go before forming part of the chocolate bar, starting with large yellow fruits on the trees in a warm, humid atmosphere.
Davor cut his fruit from the branches with a long stick and a sharp knife. Next, he broke the fruit. Each interior is white, fluffy, slippery seeds.
These are cocoa beans, although they still need to be ripe and dry before they can turn brown and taste like chocolate.
The beans are then placed in a sack and shipped to a warehouse and sold to Europe and then made into chocolate.
But his production is declining. Last year, Davor harvested five bags of cocoa beans, nine more than he usually grew.
Changes in temperature and rainfall make certain areas of West Africa less suitable for cocoa cultivation.
Davor and other cocoa farmers are in trouble because the rainy season is often earlier or later than in the past, affecting their cocoa trees less.
He is investing in new trees that won't provide shade for his crops like the sun is too strong.
This approach is being adopted by many other farmers, with the help of the Landscape Management Council, who teach farmers to change the way they grow cocoa in the Sui River area of Ghana.
They are growing shade, composting and protecting water, which helps to increase productivity.
Davor also grows pineapple, plantain and orange in his garden. And he retained his hope that with the help of NGOs, he hoped to get more bees and chickens.
Davor's daughter Regina, 18, helped to harvest during her school holidays. She almost completed her studies. She has nine siblings. Only two of them want to be cocoa farmers.
Many people think the cocoa market is uncertain, even if prices rise, only a small percentage reach growers.
In the future, Regina hopes to work on sewing clothes.
Restore the forests in Ghana
The Rainforest Alliance said that forest restoration is also underway, with farmers planting trees to address areas where deforestation causes water shortages.
Local communities also learn to build tree nurseries, plant seedlings and manage newly restored forest areas.
According to Rainforest Alliance, they are also working to monitor the trees planted to prevent them from being asked and cut to profit, which is a problem.
Most cocoa from Africa
Cocoa is growing around the equator and other major producers, including Indonesia, Nigeria, Cameroon, Ecuador and Brazil.
Although it originally came from South America, most of the cocoa comes from Africa, especially like the Gate Coast and Ghana, which account for more than 60% of the world's production.
Many people are concerned about the next harvest of top growers Ivory Coast due to the adverse effects of a prolonged dry spell.
Prices of cocoa worldwide have dropped slightly since April’s record, as Christian parts around the world celebrate Easter by donating chocolate eggs and other snacks.
Even as prices soar, demand for cocoa is increasing. It is a small commodity market, but has a global impact on food and candy producers as well as retail.
Market observers see Brazil as a possible future cocoa supply leader, while farmer Moises Schmidt leads a major project in Bahia to create one of the world's largest and most advanced cocoa farms.
Cocoa farmer Samuel Davor splits the cocoa fruit and removes the cocoa beans from the fruit. Christina Peters/DPA
