Researchers compared cacao agroforestry systems and full-sun monocultures in Alto Beni, Bolivia over five years. The trial tested both organic and conventional management for each system.
Monocultures produced about 40% higher cacao yields than agroforestry systems. Conventional monocultures yielded significantly more than organic monocultures. Agroforestry systems showed no yield difference between organic and conventional management.
Agroforestry systems generated much higher banana and plantain yields than monocultures. These by-crop sales offset the lower cacao revenue in agroforestry plots. Total revenues stayed comparable between the two systems.
Agroforestry systems kept costs lower than monocultures. Organic management also reduced costs compared to conventional management, mainly due to expensive synthetic fertilizers.
Agroforestry required more labor than monoculture, averaging 16% more working days. Despite this, agroforestry delivered nearly double the return on labor. Gross margins ran 51% higher in agroforestry systems than in monocultures.
Organic farming did not increase labor demand in monocultures. This finding contradicts earlier studies claiming organic methods require more work. Premium prices for organic cacao failed to close the yield gap with conventional monocultures.
The study concludes that agroforestry offers better economic returns for smallholder farmers despite lower cacao yields. Diversified income from by-crops proves essential to profitability. Market access for banana and plantain sales remains critical to sustaining this advantage.
