Fostering agroforestry? Lessons from the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire

Abstract

Promoting the emergence of agroforestry in Côte d'Ivoire has become a national priority. The country's agricultural sector generates 70% of export income, employs two-thirds of the working population and contributes one-third of GDP. However, this remarkable economic performance is based on cash crop farming, which has developed at the expense of natural forests, resulting in one of the most alarming deforestation rates in the world. To address this situation, the Ivorian government is promoting agroforestry as a solution, particularly in the cocoa sector. However, a detailed analysis of the origin of the trees present in cropfields suggests that agroforestry in Côte d'Ivoire can be divided into two categories: reforestation agroforestry, which restores forest cover by gradually associating trees with cocoa trees, and deforestation agroforestry, which degrades and impoverishes forest cover by converting natural forests into agroforestry systems. It is crucial to distinguish between these two forms of agroforestry in order to develop policies that encourage reforestation rather than deforestation. Also essential is to develop and set up dynamic agroforestry monitoring indicators that can assess the agroforestry trajectories of cropfields over time, and thus encourage farmers' long-term commitment to increasing forest cover.