Project Update: "Cocoa, Trees and Climate Action"

Through the project Cocoa, Trees and Climate Action, Stella Bernrain, together with the Norandino cooperative, supports cocoa farmers in Peru in making their production systems more climate-resilient and robust. The project focuses on promoting dynamic agroforestry, encouraging good agricultural practices, and improving post-harvest processes. The goal is to establish diverse agroforestry systems that enhance biodiversity, sequester carbon, and improve income and cocoa quality in the long term while contributing to a sustainable and deforestation-free cocoa supply chain.

An important milestone was achieved during the week of 30 November to 5 December 2025: together with Fortunato from Ecotop, who is an experienced cocoa farmer and agroforestry expert from Bolivia, the first two Dynamic Agroforestry (DAF) cocoa demonstration plots were successfully installed.
The demonstration plots are located in the communities of Chiangos and Aguas Turbias in the province of Amazonas, within the sourcing district of Cinco Ríos. Both plots were established on the land of local farmers: in Chiangos, the installation took place with Jhonis Santos Romero, and in Aguas Turbias with Mauro Meja Gómez.
These DAF plots are more than cultivation areas because they serve as learning and experimentation platforms, where farmers and Norandino’s agronomic staff can jointly test different dynamic agroforestry approaches and adapt them to local conditions.

DAF is a farming method inspired by the structure and dynamics of a natural rainforest. Instead of growing cocoa in monocultures, a wide variety of plant species are combined across multiple “layers”—from ground-level crops to fruit trees and long-term shade and timber trees. This creates a system that uses light, water, and nutrients more efficiently, supports biodiversity, and helps cocoa plants better withstand heat, drought stress, and diseases. A key element of DAF is active management: companion plants are regularly pruned, and the biomass is left on the ground as mulch—building humus, keeping the soil moist, and maintaining nutrients within a closed cycle.

During the installation of the demonstration plots, several elements were combined to protect soils, build nutrients, and deliver early benefits:

• Banana suckers were planted as a fast-growing companion crop to provide shade and short-term yields.
• Shade tree seedlings were added to the fields—an essential component for long-term climate adaptation.
• Canavalia seeds were introduced—a legume that contributes to soil improvement.

A particularly exciting aspect: in Aguas Turbias, one plot was established on fallow land without burning the biomass. Instead, the vegetation was simply cut and left on the field as organic mulch. This provides a long-term nutrient source as it decomposes gradually.

The establishment of the demonstration plots was carried out as a team effort: farmers, Norandino’s agronomic staff, and Fortunato worked side by side in the field. This creates a practical learning process in which farmers actively contribute their experience and priorities, and the agroforestry systems are jointly adapted to local conditions. In this way, knowledge is anchored locally and motivation for long-term implementation is strengthened.

The new demonstration plots will serve as the foundation for further trainings and an intensive learning process within the communities. Over the coming months, the project will document how the systems develop, how they affect soil health, shade, yields, and resilience, and which approaches farmers themselves would like to adopt in the long term.

Thank you to all customers and partners who make this project possible!

Author
Manuel Holzer
Head of Sustainability