Plant diversity management in cocoa agroforestry systems in West and Central Africa—effects of markets and household needs

Abstract

Cocoa production in humid forest landscapes has been one of the main cash providers of West and Central African economies. Along with the liberalization of the perennial tree sector, there are increased fluctuations of cocoa income. At the same time, the demand and interest for timber production and non-wood forest products have also been increasing. With the continuous disappearance of natural forests, the production of these commodities is being shifted into cocoa agroforests and plantations. In view of helping research and development institutions in promoting sustainable tree crop systems, this paper attempts, for the main cocoa producing countries of West Africa (Cameroon, Nigeria, Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire), to: (1) document the temporal evolution of the market demand for forests and nonwood forest products both at the local and international levels;(2) explore the set of tree species that can be produced in cocoa agroforests of WCA to satisfy this demand. Deforestation resulting partly from the expansion of perennial orchards and slash and burn agriculture is: (i) leading to a shortage of suitable forest land necessary to stabilize or increase national cocoa production and (ii) increasing the gap between the demand and availability/supply of non-wood forest products (NWFP) and timber by reducing the main source of these products-the forest. Demand of these products is increasing with the growth of urban and peri-urban centers. At the same time, perennial agroforestry systems such as cocoa agroforest are increasingly perceived as assets for Payment for Environmental Services (PES)

Trade-offs between crop intensification and ecosystem services: the role of agroforestry in cocoa cultivation

“…Four studies illustrate the role of trees in improving the livelihoods of rural families through production of timber, fruits, fuelwood and medicine, and in reducing risk with respect to cocoa price volatility Jagoret et al 2014;Somarriba et al 2014;Sonwa et al 2014). Three further articles illustrate how risk-averse farmers use shade trees as a long term strategy to avoid vulnerability of their cocoa systems against insect and disease outbreaks and climate change, particularly water and heat stresses (Gyau et al 2014;Jagoret et al 2014;Smith Dumont et al 2014).…”

Development of a composite soil degradation assessment index for cocoa agroecosystems in southwestern Nigeria

“…Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) agroecosystems are a major agricultural land use type in the tropical rainforest belt of West Africa (Tondoh et al, 2015), covering an estimated total area of about 6 million ha in Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, and Cameroon (Sonwa et al, 2014). Unfortunately, cocoa landscapes are often associated with a range of ecological changes including deforestation, biodiversity loss, destruction of soil flora and fauna from pesticide usage, and accelerated soil degradation (Critchley and Bruijnzeel, 1996;Salami, 1998Salami, , 2001Rice and Greenberg, 2000;Asare, 2005;Ntiamoah and Afrane, 2008;Mbile et al, 2009;Adeoye and Ayeni, 2011;Jagoret et al, 2012;Akinyemi, 2013;Schoneveld, 2014;Sonwa et al, 2014;Tondoh et al, 2015).…”

“…Unfortunately, cocoa landscapes are often associated with a range of ecological changes including deforestation, biodiversity loss, destruction of soil flora and fauna from pesticide usage, and accelerated soil degradation (Critchley and Bruijnzeel, 1996;Salami, 1998Salami, , 2001Rice and Greenberg, 2000;Asare, 2005;Ntiamoah and Afrane, 2008;Mbile et al, 2009;Adeoye and Ayeni, 2011;Jagoret et al, 2012;Akinyemi, 2013;Schoneveld, 2014;Sonwa et al, 2014;Tondoh et al, 2015). Until present, soil degradation assessments on a plot scale in regions undergoing farmland conversion to cocoa agroecosystems have been limited.…”

Correlation between Associated Trees, Cocoa Trees and Carbon Stocks Potential in Cocoa Agroforests of Southern Cameroon

“…CAF can be regarded as a degrading factor for the forests, but they however contribute in maintain an important ecosystemic richness, while offering a multi-functionality system in mitigating climate change as well as sustaining local population revenues (Sonwa et al, 2014). Nevertheless, CAF are capable of stocking important amount of carbon, even though they mostly depend on some factors, which can exert a negative impact on those carbon stocks.…”

“…Indeed, agro forestry offers a significant potential for poverty reduction and to support development, particularly rural development where it is really expanding. Apart from the revenues obtained from the sale of cocoa beans, farmers could get additional incomes from the sale of the carbon stocks, Non Timber Forest Products (NTFP), fruits, medicine, and of course timber (AbadaMbolo et al, 2016(AbadaMbolo et al, , 2014Eboutou, 2009;Sonwa et al, 2002;Zapfack et al, 2002;Sonwa et al, 2014). CAF also do serves as a refuge for some endangered species; some species of the red list of the IUCN have been identified in CAF (Noiha et al, 2015).…”