importance as the witches’ broom disease in reducing cocoa yields (F. Ruf,
unpublished survey data, 1996). In 2003, protection of the cocoa trees from
drought is the very first function of shade trees that Bahian cocoa farmers
mention (P. Petersen, pers. comm.).
Why this emphasis on the ecological functions of shade trees is found in
Bahia but not in some other regions that have also experienced droughts, such
as the Côte d’Ivoire, is an open question in need of research. It may be related
to shallow soils (P. Alvim, pers. comm., 1996), but this hypothesis must be
tested. One way to explore how the experiences of Bahian cocoa growers can
provide lessons for their counterparts in other cocoa-growing regions would
be to promote the exchange of experiences between farmers from these regions
and joint visits of their respective plantations.
Cocoa Agroforests in Southern Cameroon
Similar to the cabruca cocoa in Brazil, the 50-year-old cocoa agroforests under
heavy shade formed by natural forest trees in southern Cameroon are among
the best examples in Africa of seemingly permanent agriculture that preserved
a forest environment and some of its biodiversity. Satellite imagery is unable
to distinguish these cocoa agroforests from closed canopy forest. That complex
agroforests have developed in this region as the predominant form of cocoa
growing, in contrast to most of the Côte d’Ivoire, is best explained by the pre-
dominance of indigenous farmers among the cocoa growers of southern
Cameroon. Other cocoa-producing regions in Cameroon, such as the M’Bam
region and the southwest region, received more immigrants and followed
more monocultural trends of cocoa growing, comparable to those in the Côte
d’Ivoire (Losch et al. 1991). Furthermore, research and extension services in
Cameroon favored shade both before and after independence, and cocoa
farms established under forest tree shade in the 1950s have now turned into
huge chocolate forests as the forest trees have also aged by 50 years.
A disadvantage of heavy shading in these cocoa agroforests is low yields, on
the order of 300 kg of cocoa per hectare per year (Arditi et al. 1989; Losch et
al. 1991). Where shading is too intense, it may also increase pod rot (Phytoph-
thora megakarya), the most serious cocoa disease in this country, so reducing
shade intensity may be a component of integrated disease management
schemes (Berry 2001). However, it is difficult to regulate the shade provided
by such giant trees, except by cutting them down and making planks (Kaiser
1987; Ruf and Zadi 1998). The heavy, permanent shade of the forest trees also
raises its own type of replanting difficulties: farmers trying to regenerate their
cocoa farms by underplanting the agroforests with cocoa seedlings often find
that in the dense shade the trees become tall and thin in their search for light
and form their pods 2–3 m high, where they are difficult to harvest (and dis-
eased pods are difficult to remove). Therefore, farmers may choose to establish
- Chocolate Forests and Monocultures 127