More income for cocoa farmers through diverse cultivation strategies

Müncheberg, 03 March 2025 – An international research team including the Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF) has found that targeted diversification of cultivation can improve the income situation of cocoa farmers in Côte d'Ivoire, the Ivory Coast in West Africa.

Households that use other sources of income on separate land in addition to cocoa earned an income that is more than two and a half times higher than the lowest measured income. The results of the study were published in the journal Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems.

Diversification as the key to economic success

Cocoa producers in the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire are facing major challenges: volatile prices, crop yields threatened by the effects of climate change, and lack of access to finance. The study examined which forms of cultivation are particularly successful and can sustainably increase the income of households.

"Our analysis shows that cocoa producers who also rely on sources of income outside of pure cocoa cultivation are in a better economic position," explains Bonna Antoinette Tokou, lead author of the study from ZALF. "Above all, farms that grow high-yielding, perennial plants on additional land in addition to cocoa achieve a significantly higher household income than those that only manage cocoa plantations."

Four cultivation systems in comparison

The researchers examined 303 households in five different regions of the country. They identified four different forms of cultivation:

Pure cocoa cultivation – monoculture without additional plants
Cocoa with mixed crops – combining cocoa with other plants on the same area
Cocoa plus additional acreage – Cocoa cultivation combined with separate acreage for additional sources of income
Cocoa and food cultivation – combination of cocoa and crops for self-sufficiency

The results show that cocoa cultivation combined with additional acreage is the most widespread and leads to the highest incomes, as high-yielding, perennial plants are grown on additional land. Cocoa cultivation in mixed cropping systems on the other hand, achieves the highest quantities of cocoa per hectare.

Women and migrants rely on other strategies

Another focus of the study was on the question of which groups prefer which forms of cultivation. It turned out that women are more likely to combine cocoa with food for their own consumption. Migrant producers, on the other hand, use particularly high-yield forms of cocoa cultivation and achieve above-average incomes through diversification.

But there is a problem: only seven percent of those surveyed have access to financing options to develop new forms of cultivation or additional land. "Without loans, many companies are denied the opportunity to diversify," says Tokou.

Sustainable cocoa production needs more support

The study results underline that targeted diversification not only stabilizes income, but also strengthens the long-term sustainability of cocoa cultivation. Nevertheless, there is a lack of financial and political framework conditions to promote these strategies across the board.

"Our results clearly show that policymakers should take action to help cocoa producers diversify," Tokou points out. "This includes not only financing offers, but also training and advice to make better use of the potential of alternative sources of income."

Background: The PRO-PLANTEURS project

The data collection for the study took place as part of the PRO-PLANTEURS project. Since 2015, this project has been supporting cocoa farmers in Côte d'Ivoire in improving their agricultural practices, increasing their incomes and establishing more sustainable farming methods. A special focus is on the promotion of women and young people. The participants of the project receive training in good agricultural practice, diversified production and business management.

Methodology of the study

The study was based on a household survey of 303 cocoa farmers in five regions of Côte d'Ivoire. The surveys were conducted in June and July 2022 and focused on agricultural practices, income, production costs, and training received.

The Kobo Toolbox, an open-source platform for digital surveys, was used to collect data. The analysis was carried out using descriptive analyses, analyses of variance (ANOVA) and multivariate regression analysis to identify associations between diversification strategies and income.

Note on the text:

This is a summary of the original text created with the help of artificial intelligence: Tokou BA, Coral C, Montiel FI, Adou Yao CY, Sieber S and Löhr K (2025) Diversification strategies to improve cocoa farmers' household income: the case of Côte d'Ivoire. Front. Sustain. Food Syst. 9:1524997. DOI: 10.3389/fsufs.2025.1524997, released under the CC BY 4.0 license.

The text has been carefully reviewed and revised from the point of view of the AI regulations at ZALF.

Project Partners:

Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF) e. V., Germany
University Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire

Funding information:

This research was carried out as part of the PRO-PLANTEURS research project, which is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The results and conclusions expressed in this study do not necessarily reflect the positions or guidelines of BMZ.