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NEW SYNERGIES IN THE PROMOTION OF COCOA-BASED AGROFORESTRY SYSTEMS IN THE HUMID FOREST ZONE OF WEST AND CENTRAL AFRICA
By Denis Sonwa, Stephan Weise and Marc Janssens
The liberalisation of the world economy sometimes has drastic effects on rural farmers of the South. These drastic effects, in turn, have instilled a greater awareness among the consumers of 'forest' products. The latter consumers are adamant that all the products (including cocoa) which they buy come from sustainably managed systems. This new consideration has materialised by more involvement of industries (mainly multi-nationals) in development and natural resources management projects. The aim of this involvement is to increase the chain supply for the industry, as well as fulfil the need of consumers to act ethically.
The importance of cocoa
plantations in West and Central Africa
In the four main cocoa-producing countries of West and Central Africa (Côte
d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon), cocoa plantations increased from 3 to
5 million ha between 1961 and 2000. Cocoa plantations are generally established
on land previously covered by forest and/or at forest peripheries. Cocoa cultivation,
which was Introduced in Africa during the 19th century, is generally associated
with forest destruction. This is mainly the case in West Africa. In Central
Africa, particularly in Cameroon, cocoa is managed under forest. This gives
such systems a certain ecological and social sustainability.
In southern Cameroon, farmers rely on non-cocoa trees that are present in their plantations to compensate for decreasing and fluctuating cocoa prices following the liberalisation of the economy. These non-cocoa trees give flexibility to farmers. They are now trying to plant trees within their farming systems with the aim of maintaining diversity. For example, 80% of the cocoa farmers plant Dacryodes edulis, one of the most commonly used non-timber forest product (NTFP), in their cocoa agroforest. Among these farmers 38% also plant four non-fruit tree species, while 47% of them plant four additional fruit species along with Dacryodes edulis.
Managing non-cocoa trees in the cocoa agroforest of southern Cameroon makes this system more sustainable than those of West Africa that are generally unshaded and quasi-monospecic. Zapfack et al. (2002) reported that the cocoa agroforest of southern Cameroon contains 116 plant species as opposed to 160, 171 and 64 species in primary forest, in secondary forest and on farmland respectively. In areas of high land pressure, cocoa agroforests are often the only forest-like vegetation around . Cocoa agroforests contain 62% of the carbon of a primary forest (Kotto-Same et al., 1997). As international organisations are now promoting in and ex situ conservation of forest resources as well as poverty alleviation in the forest area, the management of cocoa under forest is now seen as replicable in West and Central Africa. Following the actions of GTZ and the Mars chocolate industry to promote the conservation of Tai park in Cote d'Ivoire, a regional effort has been initiated to promote cocoa agroforest in West and Central Africa.
New public-private coalition
to promote cocoa agroforest
To promote a cocoa-based sustainable system in West and Central Africa, a regional
programme was launched in May 2000 - the Sustainable Tree Crops Program (STCP,
see http://www.treecrops.org ). Based at the International Institute of Tropical
agriculture (IITA), the STCP is a joint public-private partnership between European
and American chocolate manufacturers, bilateral donors, international and national
institutions and organisations in West and Central Africa. The programme activities
have been endorsed by a broad coalition of stakeholders (Figure 1), including
farmer organisations and the private and public sectors. Activities centred
on cocoa in this programme cover Cameroon, Nigeria, Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire.
The goal of STCP is to improve the economic and social well-being of smallholders
and the environmental sustainability of tree crops farms. The general approach
being adopted is one that builds on existing efforts and activities of relevant
stakeholder groups, to add value to them and coordinate future collaboration.
Strengthening of farmer organisations and the development of an adapted market and information system in forest areas where the cocoa is produced are among the programme's priorities. In Southern Cameroon, 50% of the farmers belong to farmers associations. Organising themselves into groups is one way to overcome the effects of economic liberalisation. Through these organisations, or those it helps to create, the programme provides tools for the sustainable management of cocoa farms and commercialisation of products from the cocoa agroforest. In 2001, cocoa marketed through this union yielded a 33% higher price in its initial year than cocoa marketed individually, whereas inputs purchased by this union were bought at a 7% discount (IITA Annual Report, 2001).
Conclusion
Concerted efforts around public-private partnerships are now conducted to promote
the sustainable management of cocoa agroforests in West and Central Africa.
These efforts are still in an embryonic phase and need to be sustained by international
and national fora for the sustainable management of the humid forest zone of
West and Central Africa.
References:
Kotto-Same J.P.L, Woomer M., Appolinaire M., Zapfack L. (1997). Carbon dynamics
in slash and burn agriculture and land use alternatives in the humid forest
zone of Cameroon. Agr. Ecosyst. & Env. 65: 245-256.
Zapfack, L., Engwald S., Sonke B., Achoundong G. and A Madong B. (2002). The
impact of land conversion on plant biodiversity in the forest zone of Cameroon.
Biodiversity and Conservation 11 : 2047-2061.
Further information:
Denis J. Sonwa
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Humid Forest Ecoregional Center
(IITA-HFC)
P.O. Box 2008 (Messa)
Yaounde, Cameroon
Institut of Horticulture, University of Bonn, Auf dem Hugel 6 D-53121 Bonn,
Germany
E-mail: desonwa@yahoo.com or dsonwa@cgiar.org
http://www.iucn.org/themes/ssc/susg/docs/pas2/sonwa.pdf
http://www.odifpeg.org.uk/publications/rdfn/25/g-i.html
http://www.treecrops.org
Figure 1: Coalition around
the promotion of sustainable tree crop systems in West and Central Africa
(NB: NARS = National Agricultural Research System; IARCS = International Agricultural
Research Centre; IITA = International Institute of Tropical Agriculture)