ECOTOP is redefining how farming works with nature, not against it
Which crop do you work with?
Why ECOTOP
In the 1990s, after a visit from Ernst Götsch, Joachim Milz and a group of pioneer farmers in Alto Beni developed Dynamic Agroforestry on their own plots. The mix made the difference: farmers’ knowledge and agronomists with curiosity and a critical eye, looking for answers that no classroom could give.
The Sara Ana long-term trial with FiBL compares DAF cocoa with monoculture on the same site, with peer-reviewed results. As the pioneers of the method, ECOTOP has been part of most DAF research to date.
Our trainers are farmers and agronomists. Methods are passed on plot by plot, in the field, not on paper.
What we offer
Healthier soils, higher yields and income from the first year, with the local capacity to run and scale it.
01Feasibility, system design and implementation of DAF projects, from the first assessment to handover to local teams.
Learn more →Optional, and usually combined with one of the three services above.
Field data, farm mapping and live dashboards, built for agroforestry. For regulated commodities, EUDR due diligence comes on top.
Carbon removal, measured
+10.4t CO2/ha/yr
more than conventional cocoa monoculture
Side-by-side data from the SysCom long-term trial in Sara Ana, Bolivia, run with FiBL: cocoa under DAF stores 17.3 t CO2/ha/yr in biomass, conventional monoculture 6.9.
Biomass carbon after 14 years, averaged annually. Krause et al. (2025), Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, SysCom Bolivia.
Recent missions and news from our teams in the field.
Issue briefA new brief from the Swiss cocoa and coffee platforms, with input from ECOTOP, on gender equality in farming communities.
Research · CocoaA Master’s thesis tested it on a cocoa agroforestry plot with SysCom data. It works in places and breaks down in others.
Cologne · SummitAt the Responsible Sourcing Summit in Cologne, Joachim Milz showed how dynamic agroforestry helps farms carry their share.
Côte d’Ivoire · CocoaSince 2024, growers near Agboville and Aboisso have tested dynamic agroforestry with GIZ. In this video they say what changed.
Sierra Leone · CocoaBack with the farmers supplying Tradin Organic. Pruning is paying off; slash-and-mulch still meets resistance.
Tell us about your farms or your sourcing region. We get back to you to talk through what Dynamic Agroforestry could do there.
