[CIRAD] Cocoa and agroforestry: betting on natural tree regeneration

[CIRAD] Cocoa growing is still one of the main causes of deforestation in West Africa. However, nowadays, using agroforestry, the value chain is helping to reintroduce trees into the landscape. This is a vital transition, but one that relies on costly programmes. In Ivory Coast, scientists have gone over 240 hectares of cocoa plantings with a fine-tooth comb. Their results are encouraging the value chain to bet more on natural regeneration, either of the trees already there or via spontaneous new trees.