Public/private partnerships in agroforestry: the example of working together to improve cocoa sustainability

As information on the economic, environmental and social benefits of cocoa has grown, so has the understanding that only a coordinated effort by all stakeholders can ensure cocoa sustainability. This chapter describes how challenges to cocoa supplies brought seemingly disparate – if not competitive – groups together in unique public/private partnerships. While it is not meant to be an exhaustive listing of every initiative that has been developed, it provides an overview of how working across sectors has benefited all of those involved in the cocoa industry – corporations, governments, nongovernment organizations and individual farmers. The progress they have made and the lessons learned from these partnerships will help frame policies and practices aimed at ensuring a healthy future for all involved in the cocoa industry, and be a model for such initiatives for the development of other shaded perennial crops in agroforestry systems.