This article describes 25 years of dynamic agroforestry experience in Alto Beni, Bolivia, focusing on a model plot managed by farmers Walter and Ascencia Yana since 1997. Researchers combined economic data from this 1.96-ha plot with a wider survey of nine smallholder agroforestry plots and results from the long-term SysCom trial.
The model plot hosts 54 tree species, including 21 timber and 13 fruit species. Cocoa yields rose from 280 kg/ha in 2017 to 430 kg/ha in 2020 and approximately 480 kg/ha in 2022, following companion tree pruning and genetic improvements. In 2020, the plot generated a total income of USD 2,936/ha from cocoa and companion crops combined, at a cost of USD 294/ha and 54 labor days/ha—yielding a net income of USD 49 per working day.
Across the nine surveyed smallholder plots, cocoa yields averaged 514 kg/ha, with cocoa contributing 68% of income and companion crops contributing the rest. Standing timber value averaged USD 5,565/ha, representing significant long-term capital.
Compared to the SysCom trial’s more intensively managed dynamic agroforestry system (590 kg/ha, pruned twice yearly), the model plot achieved higher return on labor (USD 49 vs. USD 22 per working day) despite lower yields, showing that smallholders have developed efficient low-input management strategies. Organic monoculture in the SysCom trial still outyielded all agroforestry systems (1,170 kg/ha) but generated a lower net income per working day (USD 28) than the model plot.
