Crops we work with

Cocoa

Theobroma cacao

Regenerating cocoa landscapes with Dynamic Agroforestry — healthier soils, higher yields, and income from the very first year.

Cocoa, grown with nature

Cocoa is one of ECOTOP’s core crops. For more than two decades we have worked with cocoa farmers across the tropics to move away from full-sun monocultures toward diverse, multi-layered agroforestry systems.

By combining cocoa with shade trees, fruit species and nitrogen-fixing plants, our Dynamic Agroforestry approach rebuilds soil fertility, suppresses pests and disease, and improves yields — without reliance on external inputs. Fast-growing pioneer species generate income from the very first year, while the cocoa matures.

Evidence

Measured on the plot, over fifteen years.

The longest-running comparison of cocoa systems in the tropics is the SysCom trial at Sara Ana, Bolivia, run with FiBL for more than fifteen years: the same soil and the same cultivars, side by side. This is what it shows.

~1 t/ha

Cocoa yield in the DAF plots, with no synthetic fertiliser or pesticide: roughly twice the global average of around 450 kg/ha.

SysCom Bolivia long-term trial, FiBL / ECOTOP

2.5×

More biomass carbon than a cocoa monoculture after 14 years on the same soil: 66 t C/ha against 26.

Krause et al. 2025, Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment

Year 1

Income before the cocoa produces, from cassava, banana, plantain, ginger and turmeric planted with it. In the establishment years, several times the income of a monoculture.

SysCom Bolivia long-term trial, FiBL / ECOTOP

−5 °C

Peak daytime temperature under the DAF canopy compared with a cocoa monoculture, and about ten times less rain lost to runoff.

Niether et al. 2018; Fuchs et al. 2021

And in Ghana

The Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG) runs an independent trial at New Tafo, set up under the Sankofa project, comparing DAF with conventional cocoa on low-fertility soils. So far the DAF plots show more pods, fewer lost seedlings and less pest damage than the conventional plots. The results are being prepared for publication.

Both trials in detail: Advanced Research →

The difference

What Dynamic Agroforestry brings to cocoa

Healthier soils

Continuous organic matter and deep-rooting trees restore depleted cocoa soils and improve water retention.

Higher, resilient yields

Diversified canopies improve cocoa yields while easing pest, disease and climate stress.

Income from year one

Fast-growing pioneer and companion species deliver harvests and revenue from the first year, while cocoa matures.

Carbon & biodiversity

High tree density sequesters significant CO₂ and rebuilds habitat, supporting insetting and certification.

Income from the first year

Dynamic Agroforestry doesn’t ask farmers to wait. Fast-growing pioneer and companion species — bananas, cassava and short-cycle crops — deliver harvests and revenue while the cocoa establishes.

As the system matures, the same diversity that pays early keeps paying: steadier yields, lower input costs, and cocoa that is more resilient to a changing climate.