Help is on the way for the global cocoa supply chain, severely threatened by climate change.
A new project by the African Development Bank (www.AfDB.org) and the International Agroforestry Agency [ICRAF (www.WorldAgroForestry.org)] would bring relief to two Ivorian smallholder cocoa farmers’ communities in Soubre and Vavoua currently grappling with declining yields caused by climate change and worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Without help, some 800,000 Ivorian smallholder farmers, who produce the largest share of the world’s cocoa supply, could suffer heavy production losses due to production and supply chain disruption.
“Our experience has proven that agroforestry practices, knowledge, and skills transfer enhance the sustainability of cocoa plantations and improve the resilience of smallholder farmers’ communities, particularly of women and youth,” said Christophe Kouame, ICRAF’s Director for Central and West Africa.