Cocoa variety selection and breeding are necessarily long-term activities. Collaboration between research centres is needed to find durable solutions to global production constraints, such as losses due to spreading diseases and pests, and to bridge the gaps between the main cocoa germplasm collection centres, which are in the Americas, and the main areas of cocoa production that are currently in Africa and Asia. Farmer participatory approaches to selection of new cocoa varieties allow integration of farmers' knowledge in breeding programmes and are expected to enhance the adoption rate of new cocoa varieties. These were the main rationale behind the activities carried out in two successive CFC/ICCO/Bioversity projects called "Cocoa Germplasm Utilisation and Conservation, a Global Approach (1998-2004)" and "Cocoa Productivity and Quality Improvement, a Participatory Approach (2004-2010)". The projects were mainly funded by the CFC1, executed by Bioversity International, and implemented under the auspices of ICCO. They received substantial co-funding from BCCCA (now CRA), CIRAD, Guittard, Mars, USDA and WCF and significant counterpart contributions from all 14 collaborating institutions. An overview is presented of the activities carried out and results obtained. More than 120 ha of new cocoa variety trials were established on-station and 60 ha of on-farm observation plots. At all sites, numerous clone and hybrid varieties were selected and at some sites multiplication and/or distribution of these varieties to farmers has been initiated. Approximately 2000 promising farm selections are being compared with the best breeders' selections in on-station observation trials and in the on-farm variety trials. Genetic diversity of more than 2000 farm selections in Africa was analysed through co-financing arrangements and results published. Varieties with high levels of resistance to major diseases (Phytophthora pod rot or Ppr, witches' broom and moniliasis) were selected in t