Cocoa could end deforestation

THE cocoa industry in Africa is big business, with Côte d’ivoire and Ghana together producing about

62% of cocoa globally.

The cocoa bean is the fundamental and irreplaceable ingredient in chocolate production.

In recent months, chocolate producing companies have been under immense pressure to declare how they source their cocoa, as demand for the luxury product saw an increase due to the increasing awareness of the potential health benefits of dark chocolate and rising disposable incomes in emerging economies. Sadly, cocoa farms are replacing the last remaining biodiversity hot spots.

So what is deforestation, and how can the cocoa industry assist in bringing an end to deforestation in West Africa?

First, deforestation is the action of permanently clearing a wide area of trees for the use of non-forest use.

According to the not-for-profit media outlet the Conversation, in 2018, Ghana saw a 60% increase in forest loss compared to 2017, the largest annual increase in the world.

In addition, according to various climate lobby groups, deforestation remains a primary contributor to climate change.

Forests store large amounts of carbon. Trees and other plants absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as they grow.

According to climatecouncil. org.au, when forests are cleared or burnt, stored carbon is released into the atmosphere, mainly as carbon dioxide.

They say averaged over 2015— 2017, global loss of tropical forests contributed about 4.8 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide per year (or about 8-10% of annual human emissions of carbon dioxide).

Cocoa beans come from trees that require specific climates and pollination systems. These conditions are found in and around tropical forest ecosystems.

According to a recent report by the Conversation, the University of Victoria conducted a research project called ‘Follow the Bean: Tracing Zero Deforestation Cocoa’ identified three of the main challenges to halting the deforestation embedded in global cocoa supply chains.

The research study found that the first challenge lies in the need to know the precise origins of cocoa beans in order to determine whether the farm where they were grown replaced primary forest.

The report revealed that tracing cocoa beans to the farm level is uniquely difficult in the West African cocoa sector because production is spread among millions of smallholder farms of roughly three to five hectares.

The second challenge lies in the need to know the source of cocoa.

Millions of dollars have been spent on sustainability programs for their direct supply chains, but according to the report, it revealed that half of the cocoa sourced in

Côte d’ivoire is sourced indirectly.

When cocoa is sourced indirectly, there is very little control of the way and means that the cocoa is sourced.

The report states that very little is known about these local traders, although they generally often have a bad reputation for taking advantage of vulnerable farmers in need of immediate cash.

The third way in which the cocoa industry can assist in ending deforestation is accountability and transparency by large corporations.

According to reports, cocoa is one of the most consolidated sectors in the world, with three companies controlling 60% of the cocoa traded globally.

With a large portion of the industry controlling over 60% of the industry, there are risks associated with this, where a lack of transparency and accountability from big companies could hamper deforestation efforts.