Cocoa Certification Research Articles

Conserving Biodiversity Through Certification of Tropical Agroforestry Crops at Local and Landscape Scales

AbstractVoluntary sustainability standards and certification offer a promising mechanism to mitigate the severe negative impacts of agricultural expansion and intensification on tropical biodiversity. From a conservation standpoint, certification of tropical agroforestry crops, especially coffee and cocoa, is of particular interest given the potentially high biodiversity value of agroforestry systems and the substantial market penetration of coffee and cocoa certification in recent years. Here, we review experience with coffee and cocoa certification, summarize evidence on conservation impacts, and explore future needs. While there is much evidence that environmental criteria behind certification support biodiversity conservation, it is less clear to what extent certification is the cause of improved conservation outcomes. Additionally, the farm‐scale focus of current certification models may limit delivery of biodiversity conservation benefits, as maintenance of biodiversity depends on processes at larger landscape scales. To address this scale mismatch, we suggest that investment and innovation in certification over the next decade prioritize landscape conservation outcomes. This may be achieved by (1) linking existing certification mechanisms with broader landscape and ecosystem service management approaches and/or (2) expanding current certification models to consider the landscape itself as the certified unit.

Perception of cocoa farmers to voluntary standard certification: An implication on Cocoa Transformation in Nigeria

The study examined the perception and socio-economic variables of farmers about cocoa certification in some selected States in Nigeria. Purposive sampling technique was used to select 80 farmers in Cross River and Osun States due to their exposure to cocoa certification. Structured interview schedule was used to collect field data. Descriptive statistics and correlation were used for analyses. Majority (87.5%) were aware of voluntary standard cocoa certification notably Rainforest Alliance and UTZ. However, 32.5% of the farmers claimed to have received certification training from some exporters who used UTZ label. Many of the farmers (67.5%) believed that the Cocoa Transformation Agenda (CocTA) of Government will encourage them to practice certification. More farmers (52.5%) had low perception towards cocoa certification. Results revealed that socio-economic characteristics: age (-0.37), farming experience (-0.31), farm size (0.36) and yield (0.24) at probability < 0.05 had significant influence on the perception of farmers. From the study, socio- economic variables had reasonable influence on farmers' perception of cocoa certification. It implies that these are relevant factors which CocTA and other stakeholders can explore to ensure sustainable cocoa production. Training of more farmers on cocoa certification in the study areas is advocated to consolidate their knowledge and practice.

Farmers Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Cocoa Certification in Southwest Nigeria

The study explored the levels of knowledge, attitude and practice of cocoa farmers in Southwest Nigeria towards certification process. It specifically examined the sources of information, factors militating the adoption of certification processes and identified the training needs. A set of pre-tested questionnaire was used to solicit information while multistage sampling procedure was used to select 60 respondents each from two locations Ilare in Osun and Ile-Oluji in Ondo States. Results revealed a mean age of 43.33 years, farming experience 22.70years, farm size 8.73ha and age of farm 22.15years while yield was recorded as 14.14 tons. It was also established that 86% could read and write, 52.50% of the respondents were aware of certification process while only 35% had extension contact. Correlation analysis showed a positive and significant relationship at (r= 0.315 p&lt;0.007) between farmers’ knowledge and practice of cocoa certification process. However, the KAP analysis showed positive attitude (65%), knowledge (10.50%) and practice (6.45%). It was concluded that the farmers had positive attitude to what can increase their produce but low knowledge which is consequential to their low practice of cocoa certification procedure which by implication can affect their yield and bean quality negatively. It is recommended that for sustainable production of cocoa, training and re-training of farmers is needed for quality and exportable cocoa bean.Keywords: attitude, knowledge, and practice