70 percent of the world’s cocoa comes from West and Central Africa, home to strong, rural economies set in vast forests. In Central Africa, the Congo Basin forests—a critical and a biodiversity-rich carbon sink, and the world's second largest stretch of tropical rainforest—are threatened by industrial and agricultural expansion, which has already decimated West African forests.
In West Africa, cocoa farming has been a way of life for generations. The effects of climate change combined with poor farming practices and low incomes make it difficult for these farmers to earn a living, often pressuring them to turn to their children for help on the farm. We join hands with our partners to restore degraded forests and farmlands, protect standing forests, and improve incomes for farmers and their communities.
Sustainable agriculture and community forestry are powerful strategies for protecting nature in West and Central Africa. In the Congo Basin, Ghana’s Sui River region and other key landscapes, we partner with farming communities to support regenerative, climate-resilient farming and forest conservation.
2.8 million farmers and workers benefit from Rainforest Alliance certification
By 2023, the Rainforest Alliance certification program benefitted 1,098,624 farmers and 1,749,500 workers in West and Central Africa. Studies conducted between 2012 and 2020 in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire have shown that certified farms produce more—and higher quality—cocoa compared to non-certified farms.
106 communities are regenerating 382,000 hectares of land in Ghana’s cocoa belt
In Ghana’s Sui River region—one of West Africa’s most important cocoa-growing areas—we are supporting communities to adopt regenerative agriculture, restore forests, and strengthen local economies. This includes activities like conserving water, setting up income-boosting businesses, planting trees in degraded areas and along riverbanks, and more.
The Rainforest Alliance is creating more sustainable landscapes in West and Central Africa through community forestry, cocoa sector policy reforms, and child labor prevention. With 2.2 million hectares of certified farmland and more than 250,000 additional hectares of land under sustainable management, together we’re building strong, local economies and regenerating farms and landscapes in the region.
In Ghana's Sui River region, we empower local communities to combat deforestation and climate change through regenerative agriculture, forest restoration, and sustainable economic practices.
Together, we have begun exploring how more sustainable solutions, like community forestry and fish farming—can help protect the rainforest of the Congo Basin and strengthen livelihoods.
Despite producing around 45 percent of the world’s cocoa beans, an estimated 87 percent of cocoa-growing households in Côte d’Ivoire earn below a living income.
Women are the backbone of Cameroon's natural resource-based economy.
The Rainforest Alliance has supported Nestle Cocoa Plan’s work with cocoa farming families around the world since 2017. One of the services we offer is data-powered monitoring and evaluation of field programs, so we can better assess sustainability impacts for people and nature directly on the ground. Between 2017 and 2024, we visited nearly 12,000 […]
In this episode, Sarah sits down with Santiago Gowland, CEO of the Rainforest Alliance and former sustainability leader at Unilever, Nike, and The Nature Conservancy, to discuss how markets can drive regenerative agriculture, reduce biodiversity loss, and combat deforestation through innovative partnerships and consumer action.
The iconic tropical forests of Cameroon’s Western Highlands and South Region are disappearing. To combat this, we set our sights on three interconnected solutions: community-led landscape management, sustainable agriculture and local business, and strengthened rights for women and youth.... Continue Reading
Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana are the largest producers of cocoa in the world, with millions of families relying on the crop for their livelihoods. Yet cocoa farmers earn, on average, only six percent of the final product’s value in stores, making poverty and food insecurity common. Additionally, women make up a significant part of the […]
What do gold and cocoa have in common? Child labor, unfortunately. Find out about the innovative approach we took to helping cocoa families in Ghana thrive so they could let their kids be kids.... Continue Reading
Despite producing around 45 percent of the world’s cocoa beans, an estimated 87 percent of cocoa-growing households in Côte d’Ivoire earn below a living income.... Continue Reading