Summary
Côte d'Ivoire, the world's leading cocoa producer, supplies over 40% of the international market, yet this economic pillar faces critical sustainability challenges. Cocoa farming is a major driver of deforestation, with the country suffering a drastic reduction in its original forest cover over the last six decades. Climate change further threatens the sector: Droughts and crop diseases are impacting the livelihoods of 2 million smallholder producers who depend on cocoa production. The impending European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), effective 2026, adds urgency, restricting market access for commodities linked to deforestation.
This study examines whether and how Côte d'Ivoire's policy and institutional environment enable the transition to a zero-deforestation and climate resilient cocoa value chain. The methodology employs a qualitative approach, combining a review of 10 national policy documents and scientific literature with a national workshop that included farmers, cooperatives, exporters, and government officials. The analysis focused on stakeholder priorities, promoted practices and innovation bundles, policy and institutional frameworks, incentives, and barriers affecting the adoption and scaling of sustainable cocoa systems.
Findings show strong policy recognition of deforestation and climate risks: eight out of ten policies target deforestation and six address climate change, with agroforestry, reforestation and climate-smart agriculture positioned as core solutions. Cocoa is identified as a priority crop within forestry and climate strategies, especially in key forest regions. Stakeholders broadly share the objective of a zero-deforestation, climate-resilient cocoa sector, but their priorities differ. Farmers and cooperatives emphasize land tenure security, access to quality planting material, training, and higher and more stable incomes. Government agencies and NGOs prioritize agroforestry, traceability, EUDR compliance, forest protection, and climate action. Agroforestry emerged as the central practice promoted across policies and stakeholders, valued for its ability to restore tree covers, stabilize yields, enhance soil fertility, conserve biodiversity and sequester carbon. Complementary practices include pruning, composting, mulching, water management, and organic inputs. Stakeholders emphasize bundled innovations, such as agroforestry combined with composting, water retention, biochar, and organic production, as the most effective way to achieve both environmental and livelihood outcomes. The enabling environment is supported by a robust institutional framework, led by the Coffee and Cocoa Council, the Ministries of Agriculture, Environment and Forests, the National Agency for Rural Development Support’s extension services and research bodies such as National Center for Agronomic Research and Interprofessional Fund for Agricultural Research and Extension, complemented by public-private partnerships like the Cocoa and Forests Initiative and certification bodies such as Rainforest Alliance and Fairtrade. Incentives presented in policy documents include payments for ecosystem services, carbon credits, reforestation contracts, sustainability certification, financial inclusion schemes, and emerging green finance instruments, but with low levels of implementation. The private sector partly compensates for the government’s lack of implementation. Despite this, adoption of sustainable practices remains constrained by significant barriers. These include insecure land tenure, weak enforcement of forest laws, limited access to credit, high cost of inputs and innovation, low mechanization, fragmented institutional coordination, insufficient traceability systems, and limited farmer training. To achieve scalable zero-deforestation value chains, this study recommends moving beyond policy formulation to concrete on the ground implementation and monitoring. Coordination among value chain actors must be strengthened to align efforts and support producers efficiently. Furthermore, promoted practices must be paired with tangible economic incentives for farmers. Finally, ensuring that farm-level intervention address income generation alongside environmental goals is essential for the long-term resilience of the sector.