Conservation and sustainable-use practices for cocoa

(biodiversity-friendly Cocoa Arriba)

The production of cocoa in Ecuador involves hundreds of small producers, which implement traditional production practices and cultivate the product in areas of high biodiversity. Based on the sector assessment the main opportunities for the implementation of conservation and sustainable use practices offered by this product are:

-  Promotion of a native variety that is being threatened by an artificially modified variety

-  Provide habitat and shelter to other species of plants and animals

-  Productive systems can be used as a landscape tool, which means that these kind of plantations offer possibilities to connect forest fragments and recover degraded lands

-  Promotion of diversification of farms with native species used for self-consumption or access to other markets

BTFP is supporting the identification and characterization of productive systems in order to define a market strategy for environmental friendly cocoa. Results of this study are:

-  Characterisation of biodiversity associated to cocoa farms

-  Identification of types of farms according to the practices implemented and the potential to implement better practices

-  Guidelines for the implementation of environmental friendly practices in cocoa farms

-  Implementation plan, at sector level, according to the characteristics of the farms and the Good Agricultural Practices              

For more information, please visit Cocoa Arriba of Ecuador [in Spanish].

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