Chocolate is one of the world’s biggest reasons for deforestation, and a small initiative in Nigeria is trying to change that
By Olatunji Olaigbe and Muhammed Bello
CALABAR, NIGERIA: Oban is at least a four-hour drive from Calabar, the capital of Cross River. Like most of Cross River, it’s made up of a lowland rainforest. Yet, Cross River is also one of Nigeria’s largest producers of cocoa. These two things clash. Ojon Efa, a cocoa farmer in Oban, remembers watching forests cut down to plant cocoa trees as a child.
In 2015, when he wanted to start his farm, he too cleared acres of forests to plant seedlings he’d gotten from other cocoa farmers. Since then, he estimates he might have cleared at least two more plots to change or expand his farm. Today, he’s hopeful he’ll never have a reason to do that again.
“All of Cross River’s forests are now filled with cocoa trees,” Liza Gadsby, director of Pandrillus, a conservation NGO based in Cross River, says. Cocoa farming is one of Cross River State’s leading drivers of deforestation. At the centre of the tension is a central question: can cocoa, a source of livelihoods for thousands, be grown in ways that do not destroy the very forest it thrives in?
Estimates of cocoa’s environmental effect in Cross River vary, depending on who you ask. Sunday Ova, drawing from field data, argue that cocoa farming accounts for around 30% of human-led deforestation in the state. Others suggest the real figure could be as much as 80%, pointing to a chain of activity that starts with commercial logging and ends with farmers converting the cleared land into that of cocoa.
In response to this environmental pressure, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is helping fix this. Active in over 60 countries, WCS works to protect wildlife globally. In Nigeria, its focus is on partnering with protected area authorities to manage conservation zones.
One of these is the Cross River National Park. Sunday Ova, WCS head of community, said the needs of people, such as food, income, and survival, are connected to environmental degradation, and in many communities such as Oban, the tension is growing.
“Working with communities has made us realise that conservation cannot succeed without addressing livelihoods. We saw threats like logging, encroachment, and bush mango harvesting inside protected areas,” said Ova. “So we decided to intervene with alternatives.”
WCS set up a livelihood intervention programme to promote sustainable and deforestation-free cocoa farming. This idea is to make farmers grow more cocoa on smaller plots, using improved techniques and also using fewer or non-harmful chemicals. In this case, there won’t be a need to clear the forest.
In 2020, when WCS launched its Urban Livelihoods Programme in Cross River State, it began with community orientation sessions, helping the people better understand the need for the forest to be protected and their respective roles.
Then the selection process followed, where cocoa farmers were chosen and beneficiaries were trained on sustainable agricultural practices. The training covered the necessary topics from pruning methods and soil fertility to dangers associated with using synthetic chemicals and the overall economy of the cocoa market.
Farmers also got improved varieties of seedlings that offer higher yields and better resistance to black pod disease.
Ojon Efa, a farmer in Oban who has been farming cocoa for nine years, mentioned how the impact has been immediate. “Before WCS came, I was using chemicals on the farm. We were using the local varieties, and we were not getting much,” he said. “Now with less space, I am getting 5 to 6 bags instead of 3 to 4.”
He was introduced to cocoa by his friends and started with a seedling gifted to him by his friend. What changed in 2022, when he joined the WCS programme, was the process. “They showed us why not to use chemicals and how to plant the improved variety.”
Bassey, another farmer with 15 years of experience, corroborated the transformation. “WCS trained us, gave us seedlings, and taught us ways to maintain the cocoa,” he explained. “I used to get 15 bags from my big farm. This year I have gotten 20.” Beyond yielding, the economics hit him the more. “We have stopped buying chemicals. That money now stays in my pockets. That is one of the biggest benefits.” With these savings, he can feed his family and send his children to school.
WCS believes that once they help farmers get more out of what they already have, it will reduce the need to expand into the forest. But protecting the forest has proved more complex.
Logging into protected zones still takes place. Farmers are moving in and planting cocoa to mark territory. Women are harvesting bush mango in ways that hinder forest regeneration. These everyday acts, often driven either by need, are called anthropogenic interruption; a process where human activities alter the ecosystem.
Farmers’ expectations have sometimes created friction. In some areas, tensions have flared between communities and the Cross River National Park. “There have been cases of aggression. Some people feel the park owes them for taking land,” Sunday adds. “We are working to resolve that.”
The issue in Cross River is not an isolated event. It is part of a larger cross-border problem. In Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, cocoa is the leading cause of deforestation. These countries supply over 60% of the world’s cocoa, but their forests have paid the price. According to Global Forest Watch, Côte d’Ivoire lost nearly 90% of its forest cover over the past century, much of it due to cocoa expansion.
Cocoa prices hit a record high in 2024, exceeding $10,000 per metric ton. While that appears to be good news for farmer income in the short term, it also means more pressure to expand production.
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While WCS is trying to fight this logic, there are limits to how much can be done locally when the global chocolate industry continues to reward volume over sustainability. Other organisations are also involved.
The Rainforest Alliance offers certification for sustainable cocoa farms, aiming to create market-based incentives. Fairtrade International guarantees minimum prices and premiums for ethical practices. But they both face hurdles from compliance costs to limited reach.
As the WCS programme shows early prospects, it is not without its critics. Some conservationists believe that improving yield does not solve the root causes of deforestation, which are: poverty, lack of land tenure, and weak environmental law enforcement.
While awareness of conservation is growing, the path to full adoption of sustainable practices is still rocky. The real win is when no one feels the need to log, poach, or encroach because they recognise a better future in farming rights.
Credits
Editing: Chinonso Kenneth
This reporting was supported by the Pulitzer Center.
The SolutionsPaper is a a multimedia outlet leveraging solutions and constructive journalism to spur civic action and participation in development issues across Africa.
