Fragile "organic Cocoa" Certification in Côte D'ivoire: Why Don't Burkinabe Planters, Who Dominate the Sector, Adhere to It?

Organic cocoa certification remains marginal in Cote d'Ivoire, the world's leading cocoa producer. Based on surveys of 192 conventional and 53 organic farmers in two cooperatives, supplemented by additional interviews and focus groups, this study analyzes the economic and social factors that influence the adoption of this certification. Once dominated by Baoule farmers, cocoa production is now largely carried out by migrants from Burkina Faso. However, in the cooperatives studied, Burkinabe are absent from organic cocoa farming programs, which remain mainly the preserve of the Baoule. Based on this observation, the article looks back at the history of the "cocoa cycles", the role of cooperatives, and the farming structures specific to each of these two groups. The Baoule, who were the first to settle in the west of the country, are in a cycle of decline and are already using fewer pesticides. The adoption of organic cocoa farming, encouraged by cooperative managers and coaches who are themselves Baoule, appears to be less risky. In contrast, Burkinabe producers, who have more land but are more dependent on cocoa and chemical inputs, do not want to risk short-term losses, as organic programs offer no premiums for the first three years. Overall, labour shortages, weak market demand, and limited public support hinder the expansion of organic cocoa farming. Wider adoption would require an immediate and substantial premium to compensate major producers for the risks involved.