Profitability of cacao agroforestry systems and monocultures under organic and conventional management.
Abstract
The demand for cacao has increased. The implementation of more sustainable agricultural practices for cacao production such as organic farming and agroforestry systems depends on the profitability of such practices for the farmers. The productivity and profitability of agroforestry and full-sun monocultures under organic and conventional farming are compared for the first five years of a newly established long-term trial in Bolivia. Cacao yields were higher in the monocultures and no differences were found between organic and conventional management in the agroforestry systems. The sales of by-crops of the agroforestry systems economically overcompensated for the difference in cacao yield between agroforestry and monoculture systems. The costs were lower in the agroforestry systems and under organic management. Organic management was not more work demanding than the conventional management. Overall, the return on labour was almost the double in the agroforestry systems.