Editing Cocoa bean (section)

== Economic effects ==

Cocoa contributes significantly to [[Nigeria]]n economic activity, comprising the largest part of the country's [[foreign exchange]], and providing income for farmers.<ref name="Ambele-et-al-2018">{{cite journal |last1=Ambele |first1=F. C. |last2=Bisseleua Daghela |first2=H. B. |last3=Babalola |first3=O. O. |author-link3=Olubukola Babalola |last4=Ekesi |first4=S. |date=16 April 2018 |title=Soil-dwelling insect pests of tree crops in Sub-Saharan Africa, problems and management strategies-A review |journal=[[Journal of Applied Entomology]] |publisher=[[Wiley Publishing|Wiley]] |volume=142 |issue=6 |pages=539–552 |doi=10.1111/jen.12511 |issn=0931-2048 |s2cid=90875055}} {{small|(HBBD [[ORCID]]: [http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2696-8859 0000-0002-2696-8859])}}. {{small|(SE [[ORCID]]: [http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9787-1360 0000-0001-9787-1360])}}.</ref> Farmers can grow a variety of fruit-bearing shade trees to supplement their income to help cope with the volatile cocoa prices.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Oke|first1=D. O.|last2=Odebiyi|first2=K. A.|year=2007|title=Traditional cocoa-based agroforestry and forest species conservation in Ondo State, Nigeria|journal=Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment|volume=122|issue=3|pages=305–311|doi=10.1016/j.agee.2007.01.022|bibcode=2007AgEE..122..305O }}</ref> Although cocoa has been adapted to grow under a dense rainforest canopy, agroforestry does not significantly further enhance cocoa productivity.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Pédelahore|first=Philippe|year=2014|title=Farmers Accumulation Strategies and Agroforestry Systems Intensification: The Example of Cocoa in the Central Region of Cameroon over the 1910–2010 Period|journal=Agroforestry Systems|volume=88|issue=6|pages=1157–1166|doi=10.1007/s10457-014-9675-8|bibcode=2014AgrSy..88.1157P |s2cid=18228052}}</ref> However, while growing cocoa in full sun without incorporating shade plants can temporarily increase cocoa yields, it will eventually decrease the quality of the soil due to nutrient loss, [[desertification]] and erosion, leading to unsustainable yields and dependency on inorganic fertilizers. Agroforestry practices stabilize and improve soil quality, which can sustain cocoa production in the long term.<ref name="Schulte-Supporting" />

Over time, cocoa agroforestry systems become more similar to forest, although they never fully recover the original forest community within the life cycle of a productive cocoa plantation (approximately 25 years).<ref name="FAO & UNEP-2020" /> Thus, although cocoa agroforests cannot replace natural forests, they are a valuable tool for conserving and protecting biodiversity while maintaining high levels of productivity in agricultural landscapes.<ref name="FAO & UNEP-2020">{{cite book |url=http://www.fao.org/3/ca8642en/online/ca8642en.html |title=The State of the World's Forests 2020. Forests, biodiversity and people |publisher=FAO & UNEP |year=2020 |isbn=978-92-5-132707-4 |location=Rome |doi=10.4060/CA8642EN |s2cid=241858489}}</ref>

In West Africa, where about 70% of global cocoa supply originates from smallholder farmers, recent public–private initiatives such as the Cocoa Forest Initiatives in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire (World Cocoa Foundation, 2017) and the Green Cocoa Landscape Programme in Cameroon (IDH, 2019) aim to support the sustainable intensification and [[climate resilience]] of cocoa production, the prevention of further deforestation and the restoration of degraded forests.<ref name="FAO & UNEP-2020" /> They often align with national [[REDD+]] policies and plans.<ref name="FAO & UNEP-2020" />

=== Consumption ===

People around the world consume cocoa in many different forms, consuming more than 3 million tons of cocoa beans yearly. Once the cocoa beans have been harvested, fermented, dried and transported they are processed in several components. Processor grindings serve as the main metric for [[market analysis]]. Processing is the last phase in which consumption of the cocoa bean can be equitably compared to supply. After this step all the different components are sold across industries to many manufacturers of different types of products.{{cn|date=September 2024}}

Global market share for processing has remained stable, even as grindings increase to meet demand. One of the largest processing countries by volume is the Netherlands, handling around 13% of global grindings. Europe and Russia as a whole handle about 38% of the processing market. Average year after year demand growth has been just over 3% since 2008. While Europe and North America are relatively stable markets, increasing household income in developing countries is the main reason of the stable demand growth. As demand is awaited to keep growing, supply growth may slow down due to changing weather conditions in the largest cocoa production areas.<ref>{{cite web|title= World Cocoa Foundation Market Update 2014 |url= http://www.worldcocoafoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/Cocoa-Market-Update-as-of-4-1-2014.pdf |url-status= live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140814014304/http://www.worldcocoafoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/Cocoa-Market-Update-as-of-4-1-2014.pdf |archive-date= 14 August 2014}}</ref>