Venezuelan researchers develop strategies to protect cacao from climate change

Specialists are developing biotechnological applications to mitigate the effects of climate change on cacao crops in Venezuela, an initiative that seeks to combat the impact of pests, altered rainfall patterns and droughts by promoting sustainable agriculture adapted to the tropics.

The researcher in the area of plant pathology of the Integral Agricultural Health program of the IDEA Foundation, Matías Hernández Ruíz, warns that global climatic variations and phenomena such as El Niño threaten national cocoa production, a situation that directly affects the water availability of plantations, which depend mainly on rainfall under the rain-fed agriculture system.

Faced with this health and environmental scenario, the project evaluates three fundamental factors within the production system: climate conditions, genetic material and agronomic management of the land.

The scientific strategy contemplates the use of innovation alternatives aimed at preserving an area of high strategic, social and economic value for the country.

To counter threats, scientists are working to isolate and select beneficial biostimulant microorganisms extracted from the cocoa plantations themselves.

The subsequent application of these bioprotective agents will combat phytopathogens and strengthen crops in the face of severe environmental fluctuations.