An agroforestry chocolate farm

A thought about agroforestry does not usually lead to a thought about chocolates but that is set to change thanks to collaboration between the World Agroforestry Centre and confectionery giant, MARS Inc. The two organizations have been collaborating on a cocoa plantation regeneration project called Vision for Change.

MARS Inc. has been financing the Vision for Change cocoa project in Ivory Coast. The project is managed by the Centre in collaboration with many national partners which includes the Ivorian Ministry of Agriculture.

Thanks to the partnership, an increasing number of farmers of the region are exploring the benefits of sustainable cocoa farming. Christopher Kouame The Vision for Change Project Manager, , says “Our aim is to demonstrate a number of new technologies to cocoa farmers, who can, at the end, draw conclusions on which technology best suits their conditions.”

Since the project began, smallholder cocoa plantation yields have grown from 0.5 tons per hectare to 2.5 tons per hectare.

Watch a video of the project from the Centre’s You Tube channel.

Download information about the project.