Biology

Ghanakocoa cultivation research finds a sustainability certificate and increases income, but is not biodiversity.

Before the producer sells them, the cocoa beans are dry outside. Credit: MarleneWätzold

Sustainability certificates such as FairTrade, RainForest Alliance, and Cocoa Life promise to improve the livelihood of small cocoa producers while maintaining the biodiversity of plantation. Along with the European Commission’s Joint Research Center, researchers at Gettingen University investigated whether the sustainability certificate actually achieved these goals.

To investigate, they analyzed in the cocoa production department of Ghana. Their results indicate that authentication improves both small -scale producer cocoa yield and cocoa income, but cannot affect the biodiversity of cocoa farms. The results were published in the Journal Ecological Economics.

Ghana is the second largest cocoa producer in the world. However, the cocoa sector is related to many socio -economic and environmental issues. Current research is one of the most comprehensive one so far regarding the impact of sustainability authentication. Fieldwork includes an interview between 814 cocoa producers and biological diversity surveys for 119 cocoa planning, covering 46 villages in five major cocoa growth areas in the country.

Researchers conclude that sustainability certification in Ghana has achieved the goal of promoting the economic situation of small -scale producers, but could not find any improvement or adverse effects on biodiversity. I have it.

“The income related to higher yields from cocoa is the result of the authentication requirements because small producers are motivated to participate in training,” said the first author, Malene Waetzold. I will explain in the research training group of Gettingen University about the food system. “Certified small -scale producers are encouraged to promote the biodiversity of plantation, but have no effect on important environments.”

“In our research, no evidence of yield and biological trade -off,” said Dr. Carolina Okampo Ariza, a functional agricultural living system and agricultural biology group at the University of Gettingen. “However, it is necessary to keep in mind that biodiversity changes over a long period of time. In other words, it takes time to identify changes.”

This survey suggests that it is necessary to complement sustainability certification requirements by further biodiversity conservation measures to achieve specific benefits naturally.

Details: Marlene Yu Lilinwätzoldet Al, will the spontaneous sustainability standard improve socio -economic and ecological achievements? Evidence from Ghana’s cocoa sector (2024). Doi: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2024.108474

Provided by Gettingen University

Quotation: In Ghanako Core Cultivation Research, the Sustainability Certificate increases income, but discovered biodiversity (2025, February 3).

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