Environmental and economic sustainability of cocoa production in west sub-Saharan Africa

Cocoa represents a luxury food, mainly consumed in richer countries, but at the same time a fundamental support for the economies of the poorer tropical countries where it is cultivated. West sub-Saharan Africa represents the core region (nearly 70%) of global production; the lack of transformation industries and the low local demand make this area also the main exporter worldwide. We assess at a 5 by 5 arc minute scale (10km by 10km at the equator), the water use in cocoa production, exploiting the concept of Water Footprint, with the most up-to-date data covering the period 2000-2017. Further, we explore the migration of cocoa’s production sites across critical environmental biomes, by analysing extensification and intensification production practices. Results show that cocoa migration from the Eastern to the South-Western areas may have contributed to a drying process of these locations. Finally, we find potential difficulties for boosting water use efficiency in areas having yields larger than 500kg per hectare due to the power law scaling between cocoa yield and water footprint. By focusing on cocoa, we provide a first attempt towards an assessment of agricultural sustainability where the dimensions of environmental and economic impact are jointly considered.