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Contribution of cacao agroforestry versus mono-crop** systems for enhanced sustainability. A review with a focus on yield

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Abstract

The demand for cocoa has increased over the past years following the growth of cocoa-based products linked to the rise in living standard in highly populated countries. Cacao industry is therefore currently facing the dilemma of producing more cacao while ensuring its sustainability. Cacao monocrops and agroforestry systems (AFS) are two contrasting ways to produce cocoa, yet their impact on yields, contribution to farmer livelihood, cocoa quality remains understudied. Therefore, we reviewed existing literature comparing (1) monocrop cacao farming systems with (2) simple or (3) complex AFS. We found 19 comparisons of the cocoa yields in monocrops and simple AFS and 20 comparisons of monocrop and complex AFS. Three main research findings derive from this work. First, in about one third of cases, cacao trees yield more (or equally) in AFS than in monocrops. However, when considering only simple AFS, cacao trees yield more or equal to cacao monocrop in 52% of the cases. Second, cocoa AFS yields an average of 14% less than cacao monocrop. Yet, on average simple AFS yielded 2% less than cacao monocrops. Finally, there are too little elements to draw conclusions about the nexus between cocoa quality and cacao tree cultivation system.

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(Source: O. Deheuvels, CIRAD)

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Acknowledgements

Special thanks to Alice Dind, Andreas Gmeiner, Hsin-ya Huang, Garance Journet, Rozemarijn Kooring, Amanda Pazmiño, Alessandra Ribeiro who collected some data for this review in the context of an academic project at ISARA. We gratefully acknowledge the financial support for part of this work by the Cacao Forest Initiative and TERRA Isara Foundation, France.

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CD, PC and PJ initiated the study within the Cacao Forest project, GM conducted the review with support and contribution of all the authors. GM drafted the manuscript with major contribution of all the authors. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Giulia Mattalia.

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Mattalia, G., Wezel, A., Costet, P. et al. Contribution of cacao agroforestry versus mono-crop** systems for enhanced sustainability. A review with a focus on yield. Agroforest Syst 96, 1077–1089 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-022-00765-4

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