Douala: Stakeholders brainstorming on sustainable cocoa farming.

The event grouped participants from several countries. Organisers said the seminar is part of the Cocoa Farming and Protected Areas, CAPRO-TNS, research project.

The scheme, they said, aims to align cocoa farming with biodiversity conservation objectives in the Tri-National Sangha, TNS, region, which spans Cameroon, Central African Republic, CAR, and Congo.

According to Prof Roger Ngoufo, member of the project’s Scientific Committee, Cameroon, CAR and  Congo created national parks and tried  to manage collectively but activities such as cocoa farming that gives money to local communities have become delicate.

Prof Nguofo said participants are exchanging “to balance environmental protection with economic growth, benefiting local people”.

“The goal is to promote cocoa farming practices in a way that it does not harm the national parks, while improving the livelihoods of local communities,” Nguofo said. 

CAPRO-TNS, he added, is being implemented within the second phase of the Applied Research in Ecology and Social Sciences of Central African Forest Ecosystems, RESSAC, programme.

The European Union, EU-sponsored project, he said, supports 26 projects, 26 post-doctoral studies and over 90 Master’s students. He also explained that the initiative is that of the Centre for International Forestry Research, CIFOR, and International Centre for Agroforestry Research, ICRAF.

At the Douala meeting, Dr Frankline Nghobuoche, representing CIFOR-ICRAF, said actors will also “validate the results of primary data collection and also orientate the research team in publishing good scientific papers in renowned international journals.”

At the start of the event, Dr Theophile Zognou, Executive Director of the Tri-National Trust Fund, said the Tri-National of the Sangha, TNS, region, is forest covering 4.4 million hectares. He said the area is found in one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots.

The interest on sustainable cocoa farming, Dr Zognou said, is based on a realisation that the cash crop is also a major driver of deforestation. Dr Zognou reiterated the role of forests in control carbon emissions and oxygen production.

He said countries need to take new measures given EU regulations that seek to control deforestation.

“If we don't limit deforestation and transform our cocoa locally, we risk not being able to export it,” Dr Zognou stated.

Dr Armando Kanou of the CARPA-TNS project said at the end of the Douala gathering, they seek to “consolidate data collection efforts that have been carried out” in CAR, Cameroon and Congo.

He said data has been collected on socio-economic data, biophysical data, and remote sensing data to help monitor forest deforestation and degradation vis-à-vis cocoa farming.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3514 of Friday July 25, 2025