The Wildlife Conservation Society and Hershey Co. announced a $2.5 million partnership to protect Cross River State, Nigeria’s largest remaining
The Wildlife Conservation Society and Hershey Co. announced a $2.5 million partnership to protect Cross River State, Nigeria’s largest remaining rainforest and a key cocoa-producing region.
The four-year project aims to improve farmer livelihoods, strengthen supply chain resilience and advance deforestation-free cocoa production and biodiversity conservation, the organizations said in a statement Tuesday.
Cross River contains more than 100,000 households that depend on cocoa farming and contributes nearly one-third of Nigeria’s cocoa exports. The landscape supports critically endangered Cross River gorillas, Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzees, drill monkeys and forest elephants.
“Nigeria is committed to building a sustainable cocoa sector that balances economic growth with forest protection,” Balarabe Abbas Lawal, Nigeria’s minister of Environment, said in a statement.
“This partnership directly supports our national policy objectives by promoting deforestation-free cocoa, improving farmer livelihoods and protecting endangered species,” he added.
The project will promote climate-smart cocoa production and agroforestry, strengthen forest protection and community-based natural resource management, and improve traceability across the cocoa supply chain.
The efforts are designed to help farmers improve productivity and prepare for emerging market requirements, including the European Union Deforestation Regulation.
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“The long-term resilience of cocoa depends on thriving farming communities and healthy landscapes,” Tricia Brannigan, vice president and chief procurement officer, Hershey, said.
Hershey is committed to supporting 1 million hectares of regenerative, restorative, or protective practices as part of its strategy to support resilient farming, the company said.
“Too often, wildlife conservation and agricultural production compete. But when we get it right, we can achieve both,” Joe Walston, executive vice president of WCS Global Program, said. “We need to get it right in places like Cross River’s forests, which are globally important for wildlife and critical for the region’s cocoa production,” he noted.
The initiative builds on WCS’s more than 20 years of work in Cross River State. It is designed to be refined and expanded into other cocoa-producing regions in Nigeria and beyond.
“This partnership demonstrates that thriving cocoa farming communities and healthy forests can go hand in hand,” Inaoyom Imong, WCS Nigeria country director, said. “We will help farmers improve productivity, build climate resilience and access new market opportunities while safeguarding the globally important forests and wildlife.”
Cocoa production in West Africa faces climate pressures and persistent livelihood constraints that can put pressure on forests and biodiversity, the groups said.
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Josephine Okojie-Okeiyi is a journalist with over five years’ reporting experience. She writes on industry, agriculture, commodities, climate change, and environmental issues. She is fellow of Thomson Reuters Foundation and Bloomberg Media Initiative for Africa.