Cooperatives in Côte d’Ivoire’s cocoa sector are increasingly well equipped to adapt to climate change. In collaboration with SOCODEVI, two new shade tree nurseries have been created—each with a capacity of 50,000 seedlings.
The nurseries now offer a dozen species of forest and fruit trees. Shade trees are good for the environment. Among other things, they nurture biodiversity on farms, limit the negative impacts of climatic variations on cocoa trees, and improve soil quality, thus increasing yields.
“Thanks to these developments, we’re going to be able to source shade trees grown in a healthy environment. Previously, anyone who wanted a shade tree would go cut down a wilding in the fields—a practice that risks spreading swollen shoot disease, which causes swelling of the smaller branches of cocoa trees.”
-Alice N’Guessan, a cocoa farmer and member of the FAHO cooperative.
These new nurseries located in the Abengourou region are also a way for the FAHO and BOUKABLA cooperatives to diversify their revenue thanks to seedling sales. In the long term, the shade trees will help raise the incomes of cocoa-producing families, who will be able to sell both the fruits and the wood.
“As well as providing shade trees for members, the nursery creates jobs in the community and allows the cooperative to increase its revenue. This in turn will help safeguard our continued operations over the years, for the benefit of our members.”
-Eugène Kouakou, Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors for the FAHO co-op.
These initiatives come under the PCCI-ÉCOCACAO and PROCED projects, funded respectively by Quebec’s Ministère de l’Environnement et de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques (MELCC) and Global Affairs Canada (GAC).
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