The sustainability of cocoa plantations is not a myth. An example from central Cameroun

Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) growing is generally characterized by the constant shifting of production zones. It is in fact commonly accepted that beyond 30 to 40 years, the biological decline of cocoa trees, the exhaustion of soil fertility and the absence of mineral fertilization, imply the regeneration of old plantations if they are grown in a monoculture (Jolly 1955; Montgomery 1981). However, the extra cost of labour and inputs for such an operation usually limits its interest and leads to the abandon of old cocoa plantations and the creation of new plots on cleared forest (Trivedi 1992). This would suggest a lack of sustainability of the cocoa development scheme observed in most cocoa producting countries. Paradoxically, in central Cameroon, many very old cocoa agroforests remain the basis of both sustainable cropping systems and farms, enabling young farmers to set up, which would show that a sustainable cocoa growing model is possible. The existence of these very old cocoa growing systems, which combine with cocoa trees many perennial species, invites to question on their agro-ecological functioning. The following study tests this hypothesis from a wide panel of cocoa agroforests in 3 growing zones in central Cameroon. (Résumé d'auteur