Editing Cocoa bean (section)

== Sustainability ==

Multiple international and national initiatives collaborate to support [[sustainable]] cocoa production. These include the Swiss Platform for Sustainable Cocoa (SWISSCO), the German Initiative on Sustainable Cocoa (GISCO), and Beyond Chocolate, Belgium. A memorandum between these three initiatives was signed in 2020 to measure and address issues including child labor, living income, [[deforestation]] and supply chain transparency.<ref>{{Cite web|title=International collaboration |url=https://www.kakaoplattform.ch/our-activities/international-collaboration|access-date=13 October 2020 |website=Kakaoplattform |language=en}}</ref> Similar partnerships between cocoa producing and consuming countries are being developed, such as the cooperation between the [[International Cocoa Organization]] (ICCO) and the [[Ghanaian Cocoa Authority]], who aim to increase the proportion of sustainable cocoa being imported from Ghana to Switzerland to 80% by 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |date=30 April 2019 |title=Partnerships to make cocoa production more sustainable |url=https://www.kakaoplattform.ch/resources/news/news-details/partnerships-to-make-cocoa-production-more-sustainable |access-date=13 October 2020 |website=Kakaoplattform |language=en |archive-date=15 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201015111756/https://www.kakaoplattform.ch/resources/news/news-details/partnerships-to-make-cocoa-production-more-sustainable |url-status=dead }}</ref> The ICCO is engaged in projects around the world to support sustainable cocoa production and provide current information on the world cocoa market.<ref>{{Cite web|title=About ICCO|url=https://www.icco.org/about-us/about-the-icco.html|access-date=13 October 2020|website=www.icco.org|archive-date=4 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201004001708/https://www.icco.org/about-us/about-the-icco.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Cocoa is one of seven commodities included in the [[EU Regulation on Deforestation-free products]] (EUDR), which aims to guarantee that the products [[European Union]] (EU) citizens consume do not contribute to deforestation or [[forest degradation]] worldwide.<ref name="eudef">{{cite web|url=https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/forests/deforestation/regulation-deforestation-free-products_en|work=[[European Union]]|access-date=24 July 2024|title=Regulation on Deforestation-free products}}</ref>

=== Voluntary sustainability standards ===

There are numerous voluntary certifications including [[Fairtrade certification|Fairtrade]] and [[UTZ Certified|UTZ]] (now part of [[Rainforest Alliance]]) for cocoa which aim to differentiate between conventional cocoa production and that which is more sustainable in terms of social, economic and environmental concerns. As of 2016, at least 29% of global cocoa production was compliant with voluntary sustainability standards.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Voora |first1=V. |last2=Bermudez |first2=S. |last3=Larrea |first3=C. |date=2019 |title=Global Market Report: Cocoa|url=https://www.iisd.org/ssi/commodities/cocoa-coverage/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122192509/https://www.iisd.org/ssi/commodities/cocoa-coverage/ |archive-date=22 January 2021 |website=State of Sustainability Initiatives}}</ref> However, among the different certifications there are significant differences in their goals and approaches, and a lack of data to show and compare the results on the farm level. While certifications can lead to increased farm income, the premium price paid for certified cocoa by consumers is not always reflected proportionally in the income for farmers. In 2012 the ICCO found that farm size mattered significantly when determining the benefits of certifications, and that farms an area less than 1ha were less likely to benefit from such programs, while those with slightly larger farms as well as access to member co-ops and the ability to improve productivity were most likely to benefit from certification.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Downloads {{!}} Fair Trade & Organic Cocoa {{!}} Related Documents|url=https://www.icco.org/about-us/international-cocoa-agreements/cat_view/30-related-documents/37-fair-trade-organic-cocoa.html|access-date=15 October 2020|website=www.icco.org|archive-date=26 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926114303/https://www.icco.org/about-us/international-cocoa-agreements/cat_view/30-related-documents/37-fair-trade-organic-cocoa.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Certification often requires high up-front costs, which are a barrier to small farmers, and particularly, female farmers. The primary benefits to certification include improving conservation practices and reducing the use of agrochemicals, business support through cooperatives and resource sharing, and a higher price for cocoa beans which can improve the standard of living for farmers.<ref name="COSA">{{cite web | title=The COSA Measuring Sustainability Report | website=[[Committee on Sustainability Assessment]] | url=http://thecosa.org/publication/the-cosa-measuring-sustainability-report-2/ | access-date=27 June 2022 | location=[[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]], United States}}</ref>

[[Fair trade cocoa]] producer groups are established in Belize, Bolivia, Cameroon, the Congo,<ref>{{cite web|title=Gourmet Gardens: Congolese Fair Trade and Organic Cocoa|url=http://www.befair.be/en/content/gourmet-gardens-congolese-fair-trade-and-organic-cocoa|publisher=befair.be}}</ref> Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic,<ref>{{cite web|title=CONACADO: National confederation of cocoa producers|url=http://conacado.com.do/site/index.php|access-date=27 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408040814/http://www.conacado.com.do/site/index.php?lang=en|archive-date=8 April 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> Ecuador, Ghana, Haiti, India, Ivory Coast, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Sierra Leone, and São Tomé and Príncipe.

In 2018, the Beyond Chocolate partnership was created between multiple stakeholders in the global cocoa industry to decrease deforestation and provide a living income for cocoa farmers. The many international companies are currently participating in this agreement and the following voluntary certification programs are also partners in the Beyond Chocolate initiative: Rainforest Alliance, [[Fairtrade International|Fairtrade]], ISEAL, BioForum Vlaanderen.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Beyond Chocolate|url=https://www.idhsustainabletrade.com/initiative/beyondchocolate/|access-date=1 November 2020|website=IDH – the sustainable trade initiative}}</ref>

Many major chocolate production companies around the world have started to prioritize buying fair trade cocoa by investing in fair trade cocoa production, improving fair trade cocoa supply chains and setting purchasing goals to increase the proportion of fair trade chocolate available in the global market.<ref>{{cite web|last=Nieburg|first=Oliver|date=8 June 2016|title=Ferrero to double Fairtrade cocoa purchases|url=http://www.confectionerynews.com/Commodities/Ferrero-to-double-Fairtrade-cocoa-purchases|website=Confectionery News}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|year=2005|title=The News on Chocolate is Bittersweet: No Progress on Child Labor, but Fair Trade Chocolate is on the Rise|url=http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/fairtrade/cocoa/chocolatereport05.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100910224949/http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/fairtrade/cocoa/chocolatereport05.pdf|archive-date=10 September 2010|access-date=1 July 2010|website=Global Exchange}}</ref><ref>[http://www.cadbury.com/ourresponsibilities/fairtrade/Pages/fairtrade.aspx "Fairtrade Cadbury Dairy Milk Goes Global as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand take Fairtrade Further Into Mainstream".] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100730065051/http://www.cadbury.com/ourresponsibilities/fairtrade/Pages/fairtrade.aspx|date=30 July 2010}} Cadbury PLC 2010. Retrieved 1 July 2010.</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Nieburg|first=Oliver|date=19 November 2012|title=Mondelez pumps $400m in sustainable cocoa supply chain|url=http://www.confectionerynews.com/Commodities/Mondelez-pumps-400m-in-sustainable-cocoa-supply-chain|website=Confectionery News}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Nieburg|first=Oliver|date=20 June 2016|title=Cocoa sector remains 'far from' from sustainable|url=http://www.confectionerynews.com/Trends/Sustainable-Sourcing/Cocoa-sector-remains-far-from-from-sustainable|website=Confectionery News}}</ref>

The Rainforest Alliance lists the following goals as part of their certification program:<ref>{{cite web|title=Our Work|url=https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/our-work/|publisher=Rainforest Alliance|access-date=7 March 2025}}</ref>

* [[Forest protection]] and [[sustainable land management]]
* Improve rural livelihoods to reduce poverty
* Address human rights issues such as child labor, gender inequality and indigenous land rights

The UTZ Certified-program (now part of Rainforest Alliance) included counteracting against child labor and exploitation of cocoa workers, requiring a code of conduct in relation to social and environmentally friendly factors, and improvement of farming methods to increase profits and salaries of farmers and distributors.<ref name="Certification for Farmers">{{cite web|title=Certification for Farmers|url=http://www.utz.org/what-we-offer/sector-change/child-labor/ |publisher=UTZ}}</ref>

=== Environmental impact ===

{{main|Environmental impact of cocoa production}}

The relative poverty of many cocoa farmers means that environmental consequences such as deforestation are given little significance. For decades, cocoa farmers have encroached on virgin forest, mostly after the felling of trees by logging companies. This trend has decreased as many governments and communities are beginning to protect their remaining forested zones.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Back to the future: Brazilian federal bill re-discovers sustainable cabruca cocoa bean production |work=confectionerynews.com |url=https://www.confectionerynews.com/Article/2014/07/30/Brazil-protects-sustainable-cabruca-cocoa-bean-production |access-date=12 February 2018}}</ref> However, deforestation due to cocoa production is still a major concern in parts of West Africa. In Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, barriers to land ownership have led migrant workers and farmers without financial resources to buy land to illegally expand their cocoa farming in protected forests. Many cocoa farmers in this region continue to prioritize expansion of their cocoa production, which often leads to deforestation.<ref name="Schulte-Supporting">Schulte, I.; Landholm, D.M.; Bakhtary, H.; Cabezas, S.C.; Siantidis, S.; Manirajaj, S.M.; and Streck, C. (2020). ''Supporting [[smallholding|smallholder]] farmers for a sustainable cocoa sector: Exploring the motivations and role of farmers in the effective implementation of [[supply chain sustainability]] in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire'' (pp. 1–59, Rep.). Washington, DC: Meridian Institute.</ref>

Sustainable agricultural practices such as utilizing [[cover crop]]s to prepare the soil before planting and [[intercropping]] cocoa seedlings with [[Companion planting|companion plants]] can support cocoa production and benefit the farm ecosystem. Prior to planting cocoa, [[legume|leguminous cover crops]] can improve the soil nutrients and structure, which are important in areas where cocoa is produced due to high heat and rainfall which can diminish [[soil quality]]. [[cooking banana|Plantain]]s are often intercropped with cocoa to provide shade to young seedlings and improve drought resilience of the soil. If the soil lacks essential nutrients, [[compost]] or animal manure can improve soil fertility and help with water retention.<ref name="Dohmen">Dohmen, M. M., Noponen, M., Enomoto, R., Mensah, C., & Muilerman, S. (2018). ''Climate-Smart Agriculture in Cocoa A Training Manual for Field Officers'' (pp. 1–111, Rep.). Washington, DC: World Cocoa Foundation</ref>

The use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides by cocoa farmers is limited. When cocoa bean prices are high, farmers may invest in their crops, leading to higher yields which, in turn tends to result in lower market prices and a renewed period of lower investment.{{cn|date=September 2024}}

While governments and [[NGO]]s have made efforts to help cocoa farmers in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire sustainably improve crop yields, many of the educational and financial resources provided are more readily available to male farmers versus female farmers. Access to credit is important for cocoa farmers, as it allows them to implement sustainable practices, such as agroforestry, and provide a financial buffer in case disasters like pest or weather patterns decrease crop yield.<ref name="Schulte-Supporting" />

Cocoa production is likely to be affected in various ways by the expected [[effects of global warming]]. Specific concerns have been raised concerning its future as a [[cash crop]] in West Africa, the current centre of global cocoa production. If temperatures continue to rise, West Africa could simply become unfit to grow the beans.<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Stecker|first1=Tiffany|author2=ClimateWire|date=3 October 2011|title=Climate Change Could Melt Chocolate Production|url=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=climate-change-could-melt-chocolate-production|magazine=[[Scientific American]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=30 September 2011|title=Climate change: Will chocolate become a costly luxury?|work=[[The Week]]|url=http://theweek.com/article/index/219875/climate-change-will-chocolate-become-a-costly-luxury}}</ref> The [[International Center for Tropical Agriculture]] warned in a paper published in 2013 that Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire, the world's two top cocoa growers, will experience a decline in suitable areas for cocoa production as global temperatures rise by up to 2&nbsp;°C by 2050.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Läderach |first1=P. |last2=Martinez-Valle |first2=A. |last3=Schroth |first3=G. |last4=Castro |first4=N. |date=August 2013 |title=Predicting the future climatic suitability for cocoa farming of the world's leading producer countries, Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10584-013-0774-8 |journal=Climatic Change |volume=119 |issue=3–4 |pages=841–854 |doi=10.1007/s10584-013-0774-8 |bibcode=2013ClCh..119..841L |issn=0165-0009|hdl=10.1007/s10584-013-0774-8 |s2cid=154596223 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

[[Climate change]], coupled with pests, poor [[soil health]], and the demand for sustainable cocoa, has led to a rapid decline in cocoa productivity, resulting in reduced income for smallholder cocoa farmers.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Heckel |first=Jodi |date=13 January 2022 |title=Climate adaptation increases vulnerability of cocoa farmers, study shows |url=https://phys.org/news/2022-01-climate-vulnerability-cocoa-farmers.html |access-date= |website=phys.org}}</ref> Severe droughts have led to [[soil fertility]] decline, causing a decrease in yields, and resulting in some farmers abandoning cocoa production.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nieburg |first=Oliver |date=21 December 2015 |title='Devastating' impact of climate change on cocoa can't be ignored, says Rainforest Alliance |url=https://www.confectionerynews.com/Article/2015/12/21/Climate-change-Impact-on-cocoa-production-devastating |access-date= |website=confectionerynews.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Juniper |first=Tony |author-link=Tony Juniper |date=25 January 2020 |title=How climate change has altered cocoa farming in Ivory Coast |url=https://www.greenbiz.com/article/how-climate-change-has-altered-cocoa-farming-ivory-coast |access-date= |website=www.greenbiz.com}}</ref>

Cocoa beans also have a potential to be used as a bedding material in farms for cows. Using cocoa bean husks in bedding material for cows may contribute to [[udder]] health (less bacterial growth) and [[ammonia]] levels (lower ammonia levels on bedding).<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Yajima|first1=Akira |last2=Ohwada|first2=Hisashi |last3=Kobayashi|first3=Suguru |last4=Komatsu|first4=Natsumi |last5=Takehara|first5=Kazuaki |last6=Ito|first6=Maria |last7=Matsuda|first7=Kazuhide |last8=Sato|first8=Kan |last9=Itabashi|first9=Hisao |year=2017|title=Cacao bean husk: an applicable bedding material in dairy free-stall barns|journal=Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences |volume=30 |issue=7 |pages=1048–1053 |doi=10.5713/ajas.16.0877 |issn=1011-2367 |pmc=5495665|pmid=28002931}}</ref>

=== Agroforestry ===

{{See also|Regenerative cacao}}

Cocoa beans may be cultivated under [[shade (shadow)|shade]], as done in [[agroforestry]]. Agroforestry can reduce the pressure on existing protected forests for resources, such as firewood, and conserve [[biodiversity]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Bhagwat|first1=Shonil A. |last2=Willis|first2=Katherine J. |last3=Birks|first3=H. John B. |last4=Whittaker|first4=Robert J. |year=2008 |title=Agroforestry: a refuge for tropical biodiversity? |journal=Trends in Ecology & Evolution |volume=23 |issue=5|pages=261–267|doi=10.1016/j.tree.2008.01.005|pmid=18359125|bibcode=2008TEcoE..23..261B }}</ref> Integrating shade trees with cocoa plants reduces risk of soil erosion and evaporation, and protects young cocoa plants from extreme heat.<ref name="Dohmen" /> Agroforests act as buffers to formally protected forests and biodiversity island refuges in an open, human-dominated landscape. Research of their [[shade-grown coffee]] counterparts has shown that greater canopy cover in plots is significantly associated with greater mammal [[species diversity]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Caudill|first1=S. Amanda |last2=DeClerck|first2=Fabrice J.A. |last3=Husband|first3=Thomas P. |year=2015|title=Connecting sustainable agriculture and wildlife conservation: Does shade coffee provide habitat for mammals?|journal=Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment |volume=199 |pages=85–93 |doi=10.1016/j.agee.2014.08.023 |bibcode=2015AgEE..199...85C }}</ref> The amount of diversity in tree species is fairly comparable between shade-grown cocoa plots and [[Old-growth forest|primary forests]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Vebrova |first1=Hana |last2=Lojka |first2=Bohdan |last3=Husband |first3=Thomas P. |last4=Zans |first4=Maria E.C. |last5=Van Damme|first5=Patrick |last6=Rollo |first6=Alexandr |last7=Kalousova |first7=Marie |year=2014 |title=Tree Diversity in Cacao Agroforests in San Alejandro, Peruvian Amazon |journal=Agroforestry Systems |volume=88 |issue=6 |pages=1101–1115 |doi=10.1007/s10457-013-9654-5 |bibcode=2014AgrSy..88.1101V |s2cid=18279989}}</ref>