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Cited by 376Cocoa and Sweet Potato AgronomyFood Chemistry and Fat AnalysisOil Palm Production and Sustainability

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 18 of the 18 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Cocoa production in West Africa, a review and analysis of recent developments

Open access
Wessel, Marius, Quist-Wessel, P.M. Foluke·2015·NJAS: Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences
DOI 10.1016/j.njas.2015.09.001
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Abstract

This paper reviews the present condition of cocoa growing in West Africa where some six million ha are planted with cocoa which provide about 70 percent of the total world production. Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana are the largest producers, followed by Nigeria and Cameroon. In the beginning of the 21st century the cocoa production increased from about 2,000,000 tons to about 3,000,000 tons in 2010 and subsequent years. While in this period expansion of the cocoa area (at the expense of forest land) contributed to increased production, nowadays more cocoa has to come from higher yield per ha which is very low at present. This paper highlights at first cocoa growing in each of the cocoa producing countries and then deals with the common constraints and options to higher yields, especially those in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. The major causes of low yield are a high incidence of pests and diseases, the old age of cocoa farms and lack of soil nutrients.Concerns about declining output due to aging and diseased trees have urged the government of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana to launch large rehabilitation and replanting schemes which provide farmers with improved planting materials, plant protection chemicals and fertilizers. As owners of small farms do not earn enough income from their cocoa to purchase external inputs, the traditional mixed planting of cocoa and forest and fruit trees and some oil palms is discussed as an alternative to a high input approach. This low input low output system is sustainable but not the way forward to higher yields.It is thought that in the short run higher cocoa prices and improved management including pest and disease control and to a certain extent fertilizer use offer scope for a larger cocoa output. In the more distant future the predicted climatic change and increased land use for food production will reduce the size of the cocoa area and affect the leading position of West Africa on the world cocoa market. This review shows that at present the conditions for sustainable production are not met and concludes that important structural changes in the cocoa sector are needed to reach this goal. These changes concern the economic viability of cocoa on small farms, extensive land use and the ecological impact of the current cocoa growing practice. The implementation of these changes requires area specific programs with as their common goal increased economic and environmentally sustainable cocoa production on less land.

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Research works printed but not linked: 13

  1. ICCO Production of cocoa beans 2006 Quarterly Bulletin of Cocoa Statistics LondonXXXI, XXXIX (2013), XL (2014). Available at: http://www.icco.org/, March 18, 2015
  2. A.C. Fountain, F. Hütz-Adams, Cocoa Barometer, 2015, USA edition, 2015, 56 pp.
  3. Ruf F., 2012, UMR Innovation, 5
  4. Ngo Nkelle V., 2007, Presentation at the ICCO roundtable for a sustainable cocoa economy, 8
  5. Alemagi D., 2014, International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability (online first), 2014183, 19
  6. N’Guessan K.F., Presentation at Regional workshop on integrated management of cocoa pests and pathogens in Africa 15 to 18 April 2013
  7. B. Padi G.K. Owusu Towards an integrated pest management for sustainable cocoa production in Ghana, Paper from workshop in Panama 1998 2003 Smithsonian Institute Washington 16Available at: http;//nationalzoo.sci.edu/scbi./migratorybirds/research/cacao/padi.cfm, February 19, 2015
  8. Assiri A.A., 2012, Journal of Animal & Plant Sciences, 14, I939
  9. Lass R.A., 1985, Cocoa Fourth Edition, 210
  10. Adomako B., 2000, Cocoa Growers Bulletin, 52, 33
  11. Kolavalli S., 2011, Yes Africa can, 201
  12. Nunoo I., Proceedings 4th ISOFAR Scientific Conference “Building organic bridges”
  13. ICCO, Report on the World Cocoa Conference 2014, Amsterdam, 2014, 29 pp. Available at: http://www.icco.org/, May 26, 2015.

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Metadata

Authors
Wessel, M., & Quist-Wessel, P. M. F.
Affiliations
  • Wageningen University & Research (NL)
  • Director and Senior Agronomist of AgriQuest, Narcissenstraat 10, 6666 BA Heteren, the Netherlands
Corresponding author
Wessel, Marius
Venue
NJAS: Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences
Publisher
Informa UK Limited
Published
2015-12-01
Volume
74-75
Issue
1
Pages
1-7
ISSN
  • 1573-5214 (ISSN-L)
  • 2212-1307
DOI
10.1016/j.njas.2015.09.001
OpenAlex
W1747553234
Cited by
375
References
18
Citations by year
2026: 27 · 2025: 51 · 2024: 50 · 2023: 37 · 2022: 48 · 2021: 56 · 2020: 60 · 2019: 23 · 2018: 16 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 1
FWCI
23.47
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
NJAS - Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Horticulture › Cocoa and Sweet Potato Agronomy
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Food Chemistry and Fat Analysis
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Oil Palm Production and Sustainability
Keywords
cocoa production, West Africa, cocoa yield, farm age, soil nutrients, mixed cropping, low-input agriculture, cocoa prices, climate change impacts, land use change, smallholder farmers, sustainable agriculture, Ghana

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