If you may have noticed that your favorite items are either smaller or more

expensive and sometimes they're both. The key ingredient in chocolate is

cocoa and the price of cocoa is the highest it's ever been. In the last four

months it's nearly double. Ali Roggan tells us that this worldwide shortage has

been years in the making. It's a sweet treat and can be an affordable indulgence

but the rising cost of cocoa could soon leave a bitter taste in the mouths of

chocolics.

The people who will be affected would be the chocolate lovers who really want to buy good quality

chocolate at extremely low prices. Chocolate making starts good quality chocolate

chocolate making starts with cocoa beans

and extremely vulnerable crops as supply chain strategist Matt Spooner.

The El Nino last year caused particularly hot wet weather in Western Africa, which has impacted the quality of the cocoa harvest.

In addition, there's a disease which is sweeping through the West African

cocoa of crops called swollen shoot disease and this is decimating the cocoa harvest. West Africa accounts for over 70% of the world's cocoa supply,

but low prices and smaller harvest have tightened farmers' margins.

We are investing more, but we are still producing less.

Ghana is one of the hardest hit places, and Ghanaians like Isifu Isaka are struggling to keep family farms afloat.

You are not able to produce the required amount of cocoa bean you are expected.

So you produce less.

You take this small cocoa being to the market. You didn't get more money.

Most of the farms in West Africa are under 10 acres. The farmers who cultivate them earn less than $2 per day.

This crisis has come about because of a long-term under-investment or under-payment of the farmers.

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