BRIN develops superior cocoa varieties to strengthen national productivity

The National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) is developing superior cocoa varieties with high productivity, resistance to pests and diseases, and adaptability to various environments in order to strengthen national cocoa productivity and sustainability.

Professor Rubiyo, Senior Principal Researcher at BRIN’s Plantation Crops Research Centre, said planting material innovation needs to be directed to suit the needs of growers and be easily applied across Indonesia’s cocoa production centres.

“Technological innovation that is easily adopted by Indonesia’s cocoa community,” Rubiyo said during a panel discussion at the Regional Learning Forum on Sustainable Commodities in Jakarta on Thursday.

According to him, the development of superior varieties is one of the foundations for increasing production because the characteristics of planting material help determine yield potential, resistance to plant disorders, and the ability of cocoa to adapt to the environment.

BRIN is directing cocoa breeding to obtain varieties with productivity of around 2-3 tonnes of dry beans per hectare per year, good quality, resistance to pests and diseases, and high adaptability.

The development of planting material is carried out through a series of stages, from the collection of genetic resources and germplasm, selection of parent plants, crossing, selection of clones or hybrids, to testing to obtain varieties with the desired characteristics.

Rubiyo said that in general one cocoa breeding cycle to produce superior planting material can take around 15-20 years because candidate varieties must go through a selection and testing process. However, he did not specify how far the current research stages have progressed.

“It takes approximately 15 to 20 years,” he said when explaining the stages for obtaining superior cocoa planting material.

The breeding also utilises a molecular approach to study genetic diversity and distance so that researchers can determine parent combinations that have the potential to produce offspring with superior characteristics.

Rubiyo said adaptability is one of the important aspects in cocoa breeding because the performance of a clone can differ when cultivated under different environmental conditions.

Masamba Cocoa Clone (MCC) 01 and MCC 02 are superior cocoa clones used as planting material. The difference in performance in each region, according to Rubiyo, shows the importance of matching varieties to the environmental conditions in each production centre.

“Clones like MCC 01 and 02 are very specific. And if planted in Sulawesi, the results differ from those in Sumatra,” he said.

Therefore, according to him, productivity improvement needs to go hand in hand with the selection of planting material that suits the characteristics of the region where cocoa is developed.

BRIN is also developing cocoa planting material through collaboration with various parties.

He said synergy between research institutions, industry, and stakeholders is needed to produce innovations that are relevant to needs in the field.

“This research collaboration is important,” he said.

According to Rubiyo, research must also consider the needs of growers, producers, consumers, and industry so that the technology produced does not stop at the research stage but can be used sustainably.

“If innovation only comes from researchers, it will certainly be carried by the researchers themselves,” he said.

He assessed that strengthening cocoa research has strategic significance because the commodity is a source of income and employment for the community while contributing to Indonesia’s foreign exchange earnings.

The development of superior varieties is also in line with the government’s efforts to increase cocoa plantation productivity.

Data from the Ministry of Agriculture records the national cocoa area at around 1.37 million hectares with average productivity of around 715 kilograms per hectare per year.

In 2026, the Ministry of Agriculture is targeting cocoa development of 174,260 hectares through the provision of seeds for plant rejuvenation and area expansion.

Rubiyo assessed that technological innovation that can be applied by the community is key to ensuring that productivity improvement runs sustainably and provides greater benefits to growers.

The development of planting material that is productive, resistant to plant disorders, and suited to the conditions of production centres is expected to strengthen national cocoa supply, increase competitiveness, and enlarge economic benefits for smallholder growers.