Promoting sustainable opportunities in the excellent cocoa value chain (KAOKA)

Colombia, Ecuador and Peru account for 10% of global cocoa production, with expertise being passed down through generations of the region’s indigenous populations. It also provides a significant source of income, particularly for rural populations, owing largely to the increase in production brought about by high demand from international markets over recent years. However, the expansion of agricultural land particularly threatens forest ecosystems in the three countries.

In light of this, the project sponsors aim to encourage sustainable cocoa cultivation in agroforestry through a profitable economic model integrated into a functional value chain, so avoiding further deforestation. The FFEM is working alongside these stakeholders as they look to combine ecosystem preservation with local development.

The project has four components:

• Develop an integrated operating vision, using cocoa agroforestry systems to address production-related issues such as soil restoration and landscape conservation.
• Bolste infrastructure and the capabilities of producers and their organisations throughout the cocoa value chain, from production to final sale.
• Create and deploye instruments for impact analysis and monitoring productive landscapes in the project’s area of influence, with the involvement of communities
• Capitalise the experiences and lessons learned in terms of sustainable agricultural practices and the conservation of biodiversity and forest ecosystems.

• Train in post-harvest processes for employees of three producer organisations, and reinforcing the infrastructure for post-harvest processing
• Organic or fair trade certification of 445 hectares, and 460 hectares of new agroforestry plantations
• Higher income for producers with their target market clearly defined by the organisations
• Improve the physico-chemical health of soils
• Develop suitable methodologies, systematic and shared, for soil recovery
• Manage by the organisations of land usage and deforestation monitoring
• Produce technical and scientific and/or communication materials

Supported by the FFEM, this project provides an innovative demonstration of the value and effectiveness of integrated solutions at regional level, combining the sustainable value chain with ecosystem conservation to protect forests and soils.

In addition, by relying on the sharing of expertise and skills at regional level through a public-private partnership, this initiative is exemplary: helping to disseminate and harness undervalued existing expertise, and capitalise on relevant experiences.

A further particularly innovative development at this scale is the management by local organisations of their own system for controlling and monitoring deforestation, using geographic information systems (GIS) and public tools.