INVESTING IN TREES AND LANDSCAPE ... - PROFOR

Tree Crops
Coffee is one of the top traded commodities in the world, and Africa is the source of a considerable
proportion of global production of the Arabica and Robusta varieties. In the 2000 decade, there were
approximately 700,000 smallholder coffee growers in Ethiopia, 400,000 in Kenya, and 500,000 in
Uganda. Production in Ethiopia, the largest Arabica-producing country in Africa, has been increasing
by about 1.6 percent annually; it reached 207,000 MT in 2010. Production of tea in Kenya—from
both large estates and an estimated 350,000 smallholders—has increased significantly in the past
decades, to the point that Kenya has become the world’s number one exporter: 441,000 MT in
2010. 4 In eastern Africa as a whole, tea production increased from 306,000 MT to 521,000 MT
(70 percent) from 1990 to 2009, a higher rate than anywhere else in the world. In Rwanda, tea
export earnings increased to $58 million in 2010 from $48 million in 2009, and the government
is pursuing an increase to $90 million by 2015 (The East African 2011). Africa’s share of global
cocoa production is just below 70 percent; about 50 percent of all cocoa exports are produced in
Côte d’Ivoire by an estimated 800,000 farmers. Another 700,000 farmers grow cocoa in Ghana.
Cocoa cultivation in the West African forest zone increased in some areas (western Ghana and
southwestern Côte d’Ivoire in particular) at rates of over 15 percent per annum over the past decade
(Gockowski and Sonwa 2008, fig. 2).
Although investment opportunities may exist in expanding the area under tree crops, given the large
area already under tree crops and growing competition from Asian countries, perhaps the more
important investments are related to upgrading and enriching existing tree crop systems. Upgrading
opportunities exist in the form of superior varieties of tree crops that could raise yields significantly.
Enrichment opportunities exist in the form of better land management, including the introduction of
other trees to form agroforestry systems. The latter can benefit farmers through both income from
the new enterprises and premiums paid for meeting certification standards. Some of the coffee
systems, notably those in Ethiopia, are traditional forest or home-garden agroforestry systems that
support a high degree of plant biodiversity (Hylander and Nemomissa 2008). The following section
discusses the potential benefits and challenges in moving toward a more diversified tree crop
system for cocoa.
Cocoa agroforestry
The potential for profit making in cocoa growing in suitable areas, such as the humid lowlands of
West Africa, is well known. Cocoa prices have increased recently, offering even stronger incentives
for production. On the other hand, competition exists outside Africa, so efforts to increase profitability
are constantly being examined. A key management consideration is growing cocoa in diversified
systems that (1) offer shade for cocoa, (2) provide alternative (mainly tree) products, and (3) can
provide environmental services that may be recognized in reward or certification schemes. This
approach has been recognized by the development of a guideline for tree diversification in cocoa
systems (Asare and David 2010).
Historically shade-grown in multistrata agroforests, traditional cocoa production systems were
characterized by a high degree of biodiversity and crop diversification. Recent trends have seen
a decline in both productivity and the ecological integrity of production systems, as farmers have
opted for full-sun cocoa that has become higher yielding owing to research advances. Full-sun
production can offer yields as much as three times higher than shaded agroforestry systems, but it
is heavily reliant on chemical inputs to sustain productivity and requires replacement much sooner
Chapter 1. TREE-BASED AND OTHER LAND MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGIES FOR LANDSCAPE RESTORATION AND LIVELIHOOD IN AFRICA
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