Cocoa from the conservation zone is purchased by some of the world s largest cocoa traders, according to company and trade documents and AP interviews with more than 20 farmers, five licensed buying agents and two brokers all operating within the reserve.
Over the course of two visits and several days, The Associated Press repeatedly documented farmers harvesting cocoa beans where that work is banned in conservation areas of Omo Forest Reserve, a protected tropical rainforest 135 kilometers (84 miles) northeast of the coastal city of Lagos in southwestern Nigeria.
Cocoa grown illegally in a Nigerian rainforest heads to companies that supply major chocolate makers tribdem.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from tribdem.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.