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Cocoa farming has been a major driver of deforestation in West Africa, notably in Côte d'Ivoire, the world's leading cocoa producer. Cocoa has been a "pioneer crop" that was grown after forest clearing, and instead of replanting aging plantations, farmers usually migrated to the forest frontiers to establish a new cocoa farm. Based on an analysis of long-term rainfall measurements in major cocoa growing areas of Côte d'Ivoire and interviews with cocoa farmers about their history and motives of migration, the authors of this journal article argue that climate and drought have been supporting factors, but not usually the main drivers of cocoa migrations. [Source: Sustainability Science]
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