Deforestation-free cocoa for the Amazon Piedmont

 

 Led by: Fundación Alisos
Consortium partners: Rainforest Alliance - Wildlife Conservation Society

Implementation period: March 2021 - March 2024

Sector: Just Rural Transition
 

 

This project strengthened forest and landscape restoration, promoting sustainable livelihoods through a deforestation-free and climate-smart cocoa value chain across three departments in the Amazon region of Colombia: Caquetá, Guaviare, and Putumayo. These regions are strategically significant due to their high deforestation rates, suitability for sustainable agroforestry systems, and prioritization within the Peace Agreement. 

By strengthening cocoa farmers' skills in organizational, commercial, and technical areas and implementing technology for traceability and biodiversity monitoring, the associations enhanced their capacities in cocoa crop management, forest conservation, influence in decision-making spaces, gender inclusion, and competitiveness in specialized markets. This improvement significantly impacted the quality of life of the producers. 

Furthermore, producer associations actively participated in developing guidelines for agroforestry models and restoration plans, adopting these guidelines to improve their agroforestry systems. The project designed and implemented the Kasco application in 10 associations, including the formation of MRV committees and the implementation of auxiliary systems for forest and biodiversity monitoring. 

 

"Cocoa for Life has strengthened cocoa associations by improving producer’s and associations leaders’ skills and providing technological tools to support the production and commercialization of sustainable Amazon cocoa. The project has highlighted the potential of cocoa agroforestry systems as a conservation strategy for forests and biodiversity while improving small farmers’ income."

- Silvia Álvarez, Assistant Director of Sustainability, Wildlife Conservation Society - Colombia

 

Finca Bella Playa (1)

Main results

  • A comprehensive framework was developed to support a business model that ensures the production of differentiated cocoa while promoting the well-being of cocoa-producing families, with a strong emphasis on gender equality. This approach actively engaged women and young people in traceability processes, strengthening their role in the cocoa supply chain. Strategic partnerships linked to this initiative provide assurance to customers in the European Union and Colombia that the cocoa is verified as ‘Zero Deforestation’ through the Cocoa for Life programme. As part of this effort, fact sheets, data, and key indicators were compiled, highlighting social, environmental, and productive factors that validate the cocoa’s Amazonian origin, the communities behind its production, the preserved forest areas, and the rich biodiversity inhabiting protected landscapes.

  • Producer associations actively participated in constructing guidelines for agroforestry models and restoration plans, using these guidelines as key considerations to enhance their agroforestry arrangements in demonstration farms. A total of 284 farmers learned sustainable farming practices from their peers. This contributed to the association to improve future decision-making for promoting these models by following the recommendations outlined in a guide to develop climate-smart and resilient cocoa agroforestry landscapes. Read the report here.

 

  • The Kasco application was successfully designed and implemented across 10 associations, accompanied by the formation of MRV committees and the introduction of auxiliary forest monitoring systems in 9 associations. As a result, 192 farms were registered—83 in Putumayo, 97 in Caquetá, and 12 in Guaviare. Biodiversity monitoring was carried out in 5 associations, covering a total of 131 farms (58 in Putumayo, 43 in Caquetá, and 30 in Guaviare). Additionally, 286 recording devices were deployed, leading to the identification of 165 bird species that serve as sensitive indicators of forest changes or disturbances. A biodiversity gain index report was also generated. Access the guide here.

About UK PACT

UK PACT (Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions) is a unique capacity-building programme. Jointly governed and funded by the UK Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) through the UK's International Climate Finance, it works in partnership with countries with high emissions reduction potential to support them to implement and increase their ambitions for tackling climate change.

 

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