| ABS | Access and Benefit Sharing |
| ACIAR | Australia Centre for International Agricultural Research |
| ARS | Agricultural Research Service of the USDA, USA |
| AVRDC | World Vegetable Center |
| PBCU | Black Pod Cocoa Unit, Solomon Islands |
| BCCCA | Biscuit, Cake, Chocolate and Confectionery Association of the UK |
| Bioversity | Bioversity International (formerly IPGRI and IBPGR), Italy |
| BP | Black pod disease |
| CABI | Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International, UK |
| CacaoNet | Global Network for Cacao Genetic Resources |
| CANGIS | CacaoNet Germplasm Information System |
| Caobisco | Association of the Chocolate, Biscuits and Confectionery Industries of Europe |
| CATIE | Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza, Costa Rica |
| CBD | Convention on Biological Diversity |
| CCD | Conservation and Development Centre, Ecuador |
| CCI | Cocoa and Coconut Institute, Papua New Guinea |
| CEPEC | Centro de Pesquisas do Cacau, Brazil |
| CEPICAFE | Central Piurana de Cafetaleros, Peru |
| CEPLAC | Comissão Executiva do Plano da Lavoura Cacaueira of CEPEC, Brazil |
| CFC | Common Fund for Commodities, The Netherlands |
| CGIAR | Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research |
| CGR | Cacao genetic resources |
| CGRFA | FAO Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture |
| CHRC | Chumphon Horticultural Research Centre, Thailand |
| CIAT | International Center for Tropical Agriculture of the CGIAR |
| CIP | International Potato Center of the CGIAR |
| CIRAD | Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement, France |
| CNRA | Centre national de recherche agronomique, Côte d'Ivoire |
| COPAL | Cocoa Producers Alliance, Nigeria |
| CPB | Cocoa pod borer |
| CPCRI | Central Plantation Crops Research Institute, India |
| CPQP | Cocoa Productivity and Quality Programme Facility |
| CRAF | Centre de recherche agronomique pour la zone forestière, Togo |
| CRA Ltd. | Cocoa Research Association, Ltd., UK |
| CRA-SB | Centre de recherche agricole Sub Benin |
| CRIG | Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana |
| CRIN | Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria |
| CRU/UWI | Cocoa Research Unit, University of the West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago |
| CSSV | Cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus |
| DNA | Deoxyribo-nucleic acid |
| ECA | European Cocoa Association |
| EIC-ECICC | Estación de Investigaciones de Cacao, Cuba |
| FAO | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Italy |
| FCC | Federation of Cocoa Commerce Limited, UK |
| FEDECACAO | Federación Nacional de Cacaoteros, Colombia |
| FHIA | Fundación Hondureña de Investigación Agrícola, Honduras |
| FP | Frosty pod disease |
| GCCUS | Global Cacao Conservation and Use Strategy |
| GIS | Geographic Information System |
| GPA | Global Plan of Action on PGRFA of the FAO |
| GPS | Global Positioning System |
| GREST | Genetic Resources Evaluation and Selection Tool |
| GRIN | Germplasm Resources Information Network, USA |
| GSAC | Global Strategic Active Collection |
| GSBC | Global Strategic Base Collection |
| GSCC | Global Strategic Cacao Collection |
| IBPGR | International Board for Plant Genetic Resources (now Bioversity International) |
| IC3 | International Cacao Collection at CATIE, Costa Rica |
| ICA | Instituto Agronomico de Campinas, Brazil |
| ICCO | International Cocoa Organization |
| ICCRI | Indonesian Coffee and Cocoa Research Institute, Indonesia |
| ICGD | International Cocoa Germplasm Database |
| ICG,T | International Cocoa Genebank, Trinidad and Tobago |
| ICI | International Cocoa Initiative |
| ICQC,R | International Cocoa Quarantine Centre, Reading, UK |
| ICS | Imperial College Selection |
| ICT | International Clone Trial |
| ICT | Instituto de Cultivos Tropicales, Tarapoto, Peru |
| IDIAF | Instituto Dominicano de Investigaciones Agropecuarias y Forestales, Domenican Republic |
| IDH | Dutch Government Sustainable Trade Initiative |
| IICA | Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture |
| IITA | International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Nigeria |
| INGENIC | International Group for the Genetic Improvement of Cocoa |
| INIA | Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Agrícolas, Venezuela |
| INIAP | Instituto Nacional de Investigaçâo Agrária e des Pescas, Ecuador |
| IPGRI | International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (now Bioversity International) |
| IPPC | International Plant Protection Convention |
| IPRs | Intellectual Property Rights |
| IRAD | Institut de recherche agricole pour le développement, Cameroon |
| ISC | Interim Steering Committee |
| ITIS | Integrated Taxonomic Information System |
| ITPGRFA | International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture |
| LIFFE | London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange |
| MAS | Marker Assisted Selection |
| MCB | Malaysia Cocoa Board, Malaysia |
| MHOCGA | Mabaruma/Hosororo Organic Cocoa Growers Association, Guyana |
| MLS | Multi-Lateral System of exchange of the ITPGRFA |
| MMSP | Mabang Megakarya Selection Programme |
| MTA | Material Transfer Agreement |
| NGO | Non Governmental Organization |
| NYSE | New York Stock Exchange |
| PACS | Payments for Agro-Biodiversity Conservation Services |
| PGR | Plant genetic resources |
| PGRFA | Plant genetic resources for food and agriculture |
| SE | Somatic embryogenesis |
| SGRP | System-wide Genetic Resources Programme of the CGIAR |
| SINGER | System-wide Information Network for Genetic Resources of the CGIAR |
| SMTA | Standard Material Transfer Agreement |
| SNP | Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) |
| SSR | Microsatellites or simple sequence repeats |
| STCP | Sustainable Tree Crops Programme, based at IITA-Ghana |
| TF | Task Force |
| Trust | Global Crop Diversity Trust, Italy |
| UESC | Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Brazil |
| UFLA | Universidade Federal de Lavras, Brazil |
| UNA | Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina, Peru |
| UNAN | Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Nicaragua, Laboratorio de Biociencia, Managua, Nicaragua |
| UNAS | Universidad Nacional Agraria de la Selva, Tingo María, Peru |
| UNSAAC | Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cuzco, Cuzco, Peru |
| USAID | United States Agency for International Development |
| USDA | United States Department of Agriculture, USA |
| USMARC | University of Southern Mindanao Agricultural Research Centre, Philippines |
| UWI | The University of The West Indies |
| V4C | Vision for Change project |
| VARTC | Vanuatu Agricultural Research and Technical Centre, Vanuatu |
| VSD | Vascular streak dieback disease |
| WACRI | West Africa Cocoa Research Institute |
| WBD | Witches' broom disease |
| WCF | World Cocoa Foundation, USA |
| WIEWS | World Information and Early Warning System |