**Specific objective of the CocoaPOP project:**
To conduct research into cocoa pollination that will improve yields of cocoa through the optimisation of fruit setting and seed production throughout the year.
CocoaPOP (*Optimisation of cocoa pollination for increased yield and income generation*, :
FED/2012/290-490) was a project funded by the ACP group of states under the S&T and CP-RSD funding programmes.
The project was led by the University of Trinidad and Tobago (coordinated by Dr Puran Bridgemohan), with partners from the UK (Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich; CABI) and Jamaica (Cocoa Industry Board of Jamaica) but over the course of the project life (2012-2016) there were a variety of other linkages and partnerships formed.
The CocoaPOP project aimed to make cocoa production more environmentally sustainable and more resilient to the impacts of extreme climatic events and climate variability. The project carried out field trials to explore the importance of natural pollination for cocoa yield, delivering management recommendations that will ultimately mean that water and energy resources can be conserved by reducing the pressure on additional plantation needs. Higher yields from existing plantations reduces the need to expand plantations by converting natural forest.
