Before cocoa becomes chocolate, it begins as a pod on a tree. But even earlier, a single seedling decides its destiny.
Hidden deep in the rainforest region of Palos Blancos, Bolivia, cocoa farmers travel hours along dirt roads to reach a place that looks nothing like a traditional cocoa farm. Their goals is simple: access to planting material that gives their farms a better chance of withstanding a rapidly changing climate.
At the centre of this network is Román Romero Flores, a cocoa researcher and nursery manager shaping the future of cocoa farming in Bolivia. His work focuses on one critical question: which cacao trees will still be growing years from now?
A living laboratory in the rainforest
For over a decade, his nursery has functioned less like a commercial plant factory and more like a living laboratory for agroforestry. In agroforestry farming, cocoa grows alongside citrus trees, shade species, and native forest plants, creating small ecosystems designed to restore soil health and protect crops against extreme weather.
Through practical research, careful grafting and constant experimentation, Román prepares farmers with cacao plants that can withstand disease, drought, heavy rain, and shifting seasons; realities that are becoming impossible to ignore.
“We’ve been studying each plant and their behaviour deeply — how they react to cold weather, humidity, heat, sun rays,” Román explains.
Years of observing cocoa’s genetic diversity have shaped both the seedlings Román produces and the guidance he shares with farmers. His long-term, research-led approach has earned him a strong reputation, drawing farmers from across the region who travel long distances to source plants from his nursery.
Why the nursery stage matters more than ever
Cocoa is a crop shaped by patience. Its trees take several years to mature. If a young tree fails early due to climate stress or disease, that loss represents years of time, labour, and income.
In Bolivia, climate pressure has made that reality painfully clear. Traditional farming models no longer guarantee stability. Clearing land for cattle often brings faster income than growing crops, even though it accelerates deforestation and soil degradation.
Román understands this tension firsthand.
“In the past, few people wanted to produce cocoa. They only kept cattle. They deforested hills,” he says.
His work offers a different path. By supplying climate-resilient cacao seedlings and training farmers in grafting techniques, Román makes agroforestry not just an ecological choice, but a viable economic one.
Agroforestry as a shift in mindset
The transition to agroforestry isn’t only about planting different trees. It’s about changing how people relate to the land.
Román works closely with Indigenous communities, sharing practical skills that allow farmers to diversify income while restoring forest cover.
“I teach them grafting. I give them different varieties, so they can work and produce,” he explains. “We want them to stop deforesting by encouraging them to grow more plants.”
When cacao grows alongside other trees and plants, the roots retain water. The canopies cool the soil. Biodiversity allows for a reciprocal relationship with the land. And the result is resilience.
“This gives me hope,” Román says. “It’s beneficial for us, for climate conditions.”
A nursery rooted in community
Román’s nursery operates in Colonia Sumaj Orko, within the municipality of Rurrenabaque. Its location reflects both deep community ties and long-standing technical expertise.
When we visited the nursery with our Bolivian cacao partner, Sicirec, it was clear why this site plays such an important role in the region. Local community members work in the nursery, contributing labour, experience, and care. The nursery provides income, but it also functions as a shared space where knowledge circulates between researchers, farmers, and future growers.
Since 2022, the nursery has produced cacao seedlings for agroforestry projects supported by Sicirec, helping ensure that high-quality, climate-resilient planting material reaches farmers transitioning to agroforestry systems.
By backing nurseries like Román’s, we’re able to support cocoa farming that is rooted in local knowledge, built for long-term resilience, and designed to work with the forest rather than against it. 
Thinking ahead
As climate extremes reshape where and how cocoa can be grown, nurseries like Román’s are becoming essential because they’re one of the few preserving genetic diversity and keeping forests standing.
The future of cocoa will not be determined by a single solution or innovation. It will be shaped by many careful decisions, made early and repeated over time.
And often, those decisions begin here in a nursery, with young trees grown thoughtfully for the landscapes they will one day become part of.
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