Jorge Ito was the child of Japanese immigrants who left the port of Kobe in the mid-1950s. Arriving in Tomé-Açu in the hope of improving their living conditions, the family started growing pepper and rice.
After an epidemic of fusarium wilt in the late 60s and early 70s, the trees were decimated and the Ito family lost all their pepper production. They then started growing passion fruit, and later cacao.
Since the 1980s, the Ito family's cacao has been grown in agroforestry, amidst andiroba, cupuaçu, jackfruit and Brazil nuts, over an area of 8 hectares. It's safe to say that the Ito family have been growing cocoa sustainably for over 40 years!
Jorge Ito sadly passed away in 2023, and it is now his daughter and her family who have taken over the farm. César, Director of Cacao Sourcing, had the chance to meet him thanks to Marcos Croce from FAF and Claudia Davis, and to appreciate just how much of a reference Jorge Ito is to Tomé-Açu.
