Chocolate lovers in Basel, Switzerland, can be forgiven for taking a long time in the supermarket sweet aisle deciding which chocolate to buy, but thousands of miles away, smallholder farmers in Tanzania's southern highlands who work tirelessly to grow cocoa – a key ingredient in the chocolate industry – have never tasted it.

“I don’t know how it tastes, and quite honestly, I don’t even know what it looks like,” said 65-year-old Josina Mwaibale, a farmer in a remote village in Kyela district, as she cracked open a cocoa pod to scoop out its beans.

The chocolate bars on Swiss supermarket shelves are inextricably linked to the plight of farmers in this impoverished village, who struggle to make ends meet despite striking “gold”.

“I work so hard, but I don’t get much of the profit,” Mwaibale lamented.

Multibillion-dollar industry

While chocolate makers are fully aware that the multibillion-dollar industry requires a constant supply of cocoa, local farmers in Kyela do not always reap the rewards of their labor.

However, because the crop is essential in the global chocolate industry, farmers in the district are making a renewed push to boost yields to earn greater profits.

Although the $130 billion chocolate industry is dependent on smallholder farmers, the majority of them are unaware of their active role.

Mwaibale has spent years caring for a cocoa farm in the scorching sun. Despite her efforts, she only earns about 500,000 Tanzanian shillings (some $217) per year.

“The cost of living is too high. This money is not enough to sustain life,” she told Anadolu Agency.

Wafting smell

Rungwe and Kyela districts in Tanzania’s southern highlands grow 90% of the cocoa produced in the country. During the harvest season in March, visitors to the orchids are often greeted by the aroma of drying cocoa wafting in the air.

For Edson Kikwa, a 49-year-old cocoa farmer in Ntebela village in Kyela, this is one of the busiest times of the year.

Armed with a sharp machete, Kikwa briskly chops a ripe yellow pod, scooping out white pulpy beans and leaving them to dry on pieces of canvas spread out on the ground.

But Kikwa, who earns roughly 1,000,000 Tanzanian shillings (about $434) a year from the sale of his cocoa, has never tasted chocolate, either.

The cocoa industry supports around 100,000 people, most of whom live in Rungwe and Kyela districts, where farmers describe the conditions for growing it as perfect.

In Ntebela village, east of Kyela, where Kikwa lives with his wife and six children, cocoa production has helped improve the livelihoods of ordinary people by contributing more to household incomes than any other crop.

“It takes a lot of work to tend the trees and turn bitter cacao into something delicious,” Kikwa explained.

Tanzania exports about 6,500 metric tons of cocoa beans every year, earning roughly $228 million, according to government data.

Despite giving an attractive financial dividend to the nation, chocolate is not easy to find in villages in Kyela, and when it is, local farmers do not dare to buy it because it is too expensive for them.

At Ikolo village in Kyela district, Victoria Kazungu crouches over a large pile of dried cocoa. She sifts through the pods to select those of the highest quality.

Although Kazungu contributes a large share of cocoa labor on the farm, such as planting, pruning, and harvesting, she does not directly enjoy the fruits of her labor because her husband handles all financial matters.

“I don’t see it much of a problem because he’s my second half,” she remarked.

Across Ikolo village, cocoa trees spread up like weeds, sprouting up from the red-clay soil whenever the beans are dropped.

During the main cocoa season in Ikolo, which begins in early March, machete-wielding farmers pick ripe yellow pods the size of rugby balls off cocoa trees, scoop out the white pulpy beans, and place them on canvas mats to dry.

As the beans ferment and darken, the aroma of cocoa wafts through the air.

Bagged in sacks, the beans are then sold to middlemen who transport them to clearing warehouses or processing factories where they are ready to be exported.

However, for most farmers, the taste of chocolate, no matter how delicious, remains a faraway fantasy.

“I would love to eat the final product of cocoa one day,” said Kazungu./aa