Planet: Responsible, sound environmental stewardship in cocoa-farming communities

Cocoa originated in the rainforests of South America, playing an important and positive role in the region’s complex tropical ecosystem. Today, cocoa can continue to play this important environmental role, helping establish and sustain diverse and much needed plant, animal and insect ecologies across the rural sector of the tropics. Many environmentally friendly practices can also be economically beneficial by allowing farmers to spend less money on inputs.

The World Cocoa Foundation supports programs that promote sound environmental stewardship in cocoa-farming communities by:

• Promoting efficient, responsible use of water resources.
• Training farmers in soil fertility management techniques such as proper use of fertilizer, composting and intercropping.
• Focusing training activities on integrated pest and disease management, an approach that utilizes information about pest/disease lifecycles and environment to prevent and control problems. The emphasis is on use of cultural practices (such as pruning) and biocontrols (such as pests’ natural predators) with agrochemicals used only as a last resort.
• Researching and developing effective biocontrols for common pests and diseases.
• Encouraging the practice of agroforestry and intercropping, the integration of cocoa trees with forest trees, fruit trees, and other crops.