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30–40%
Ivorian farms infected in main cocoa-producing regions
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>50%
Participating farmers agreeing to the removal of infected trees
“Before you came, I didn't even know my cocoa farm was infected. Now, I can cut down the infected part and plant yam, cassava, banana, and cashew, and then I will replant cocoa in five years in the shade of the cashew trees.”
The Challenge
Cocoa swollen shoot virus (CSSV) is one of the most destructive diseases in cocoa production, with no cure once a tree is infected. Left unaddressed, yields can drop by half within two years and entire farms can be lost within three to five. Infection rates in Côte d'Ivoire have been rising, putting an estimated 15% of the country's cocoa supply at risk.
With truly disease-resistant varieties unlikely to be available for at least another 5 to 10 years, the only way to slow the spread of the virus is to remove infected trees and those within a surrounding buffer zone. Most farmers are reluctant to act. Many do not know their farms are infected in the early stages, or the full extent of infection on their plots. In addition, after removing infected trees, farmers must wait three years before replanting cocoa in the same spot. Because uprooting trees means losing income with no immediate replacement, there is a strong temptation to continue harvesting the dwindling production as the infection progresses. Delaying any intervention is the most common response, but inaction on one farm puts the farming community at a greater risk.
Our Approach
Working at the level of the community, the effort starts with rapid diagnostics to identify infected plots and trees at the earliest signs of infection—leaf loss or unusual leaf patterns—before shoots swell and trees begin to die. We are trialing incentives tied to cutting and replanting milestones to reduce the financial burden of remediation and help farmers take action at the right time, and we accompany them through the process of replanting crops resistant to CSSV. Implementation is refined continuously, with on-farm data and farmer feedback driving each phase. To date, over half of the farmers Enveritas has approached to participate in this project have agreed to uproot infected trees, a rate we are working to increase significantly.
