Cacao Farmers from Cusco Qualify for the National Stage of the 2025 Quality Cacao Competition

Four cocoa producers from the Apurímac, Ene, and Mantaro River Valley (Vraem) will represent the Cusco region in the 2025 Quality Cocoa Competition national stage, after taking the top spots in the regional stage held in the Pichari district. These families are part of the productive groups accompanied by Devida, an institution that promotes their technical and associative strengthening through cocoa activity. With this intervention, each phase of the productive chain was optimized, from harvest to post-harvest, resulting in excellent quality beans, ready to compete with the best in the country. The winning samples stood out among 61 presentations, with varieties such as VRAE-99, recognized for its fine aroma and potential in specialized markets. Behind each sample is a story of effort, overcoming, and the decision to leave behind the illegal drug trafficking circuit. This competition was driven by the Technical Table of the Cocoa and Chocolate Agro-Productive Chain in Vraem, in ...