Earthworm leads key cocoa farmer agroforestry initiative in Brazil

A key agricultural initiative led by the Earthworm group targeting Ivory Coast cocoa farmers, and Malaysian palm oil operations, saw delegates engage in an initiative in Pará, Brazil, on delivering advanced agroforestry techniques, reports Neill Barston.

As the non governmental organisation noted, the series of visits were staged between July and September 2025, and centred on exploring how smallholder agroforestry systems could be replicated as both countries push for more regenerative agricultural practices and forest restoration.

Significantly, as Earthworm noted, the exchanges connected farm-level innovations with national strategies in the run-up to COP30, which, on the basis of advances made at previous iterations of the event, has placed evolving agricultural best practice firmly on its agenda.

As Confectionery Production has previously reported, Earthworm has been particularly prominent in activity centred on highlighting deforestation linked to industry – including from cocoa and palm oil operations used within the snacking sector. Its latest initiative has aimed to provide core assistance to those working within supply chains in evaluating and improving their agricultural processes and opportunities.

According to Earthworm, its initiative in Brazil took place across multiple farms in Tomé-Açu, the delegations observed diversified production systems that combined oil palm, cocoa, fruit trees and native forest species such as açaí and andiroba.

Farmers demonstrated how income smoothing, pest resistance, and improvements in soil health emerge from strategically combining species. The visits also included a technical meeting in Belém at the Cocoa Farming Plan (CEPLAC), Brazil’s cocoa research and extension agency, where scientists presented advances and discussed how technical services can support farmers in adopting agroforestry practices.

As part of their broader agenda in Brazil, the delegations also met with Minister of Environment Marina Silva, underscoring the political relevance of these exchanges alongside the technical lessons from the field.
National stakes

Over the past two years, the governments of Ivory Coast and Brazil have strengthened their collaboration to share the experience gained by Brazil over several decades in the field of agroforestry.

Furthermore, Ivory Coast has committed to restoring 5 million hectares of degraded forests and land by 2030. The country is also facing a drop in cocoa production linked to pests (swollen shoot) and climate change. The delegation visited Brazil to draw inspiration from its forest restoration policies, which are based on agroforestry, and to strengthen technical cooperation and institutional support

Crucially, as Earthworm observed, this latest collaboration could inspire Ivory Coast’s Ministry of Water and Forests (MINEF) as it implements the country’s ambitious plan to restore 3.5 million hectares of forest by 2030.

In this context, MINEF initiated two collaborative knowledge-sharing missions on agroforestry and forest ecosystem restoration in Brazil. The first mission took place in Tomé-Açu, State of Pará, from 15 to 21 June 2025, with the participation of high-ranking Ivorian officials from the public and private sectors.

The Ivorian Minister of Water and Forests, Laurent Tchagba, led the second mission from 8 to 11 July 2025 in Brasília, where he participated in high-level meetings with Brazil’s Minister of the Environment, Marina Silva.

These missions reflect a shared desire between Brazil and Côte d’Ivoire to strengthen their technical, political, and institutional ties within a South–South cooperation framework, addressing challenges related to ecosystem restoration, regenerative agriculture, and sustainable forest governance.

Agricultural initiatives

As Earthworm noted, in Malaysia is facing a primary replanting wave of oil palms, with more than 114,000 hectares replanted in 2024. Delegates from the

Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) and the Malaysian Cocoa Board viewed agroforestry as a potential strategy to provide alternative sources of income for farmers during the replanting season, reduce vulnerability to climatic shocks, and support rural resilience.

Notably, Brazil’s landscapes have long been home to agroforestry, an ancestral practice of Indigenous communities that is now being developed at larger scales by farmers, cooperatives and researchers. In Tomé-Açu, Japanese-descendant cooperatives and their neighbours have spent over 40 years refining diversified systems that mimic natural forests, combining ecological succession, biodiversity and resilience.

Building on over a decade of work supporting farmers in this region, Earthworm Foundation collaborates with local cooperatives such as CAMTA and government partners to strengthen these agroforestry models and connect practical field learning with policy and corporate commitments.

These long-term partnerships positioned Earthworm to facilitate the recent exchanges, linking Côte d’Ivoire and Malaysian delegates directly with farmers pioneering this approach.

What stood out in the field
• Income smoothing through crop mix – farmers stagger harvests across species to ensure income flows more evenly through the year.
• Species chosen for purpose – trees were selected for shade, nitrogen fixation, compost inputs, and water retention.
• Disease and pest dynamics – delegates probed how farmers manage risks across mixed-species systems.
• Different adoption stages – some farms have decades of experience, others are just beginning, highlighting the challenge of scaling.
Looking ahead

In Malaysia, the Malaysian Palm Oil Board signalled interest in exploring how agroforestry models could be tested through pilot plots to generate evidence and strengthen the business case for future scaling. In Côte d’Ivoire, the lessons from Brazil will inform thinking on how farmer-centred agroforestry can contribute to the country’s ambition of restoring 2.9 million hectares of land.

Concluding,  Earthworm observed that as both governments consider next steps, collaboration between farmers, companies and public institutions will be essential to adapt and scale these approaches sustainably.