How can Cacao Help Preserve Rainforests?
One of the main reasons for the loss of rainforests is due to agricultural practices that require clearing the forest in order to grow crops. The main crops that lead to deforestation include banana, and cattle pastures.
Unlike most agricultural practices in the tropics, cacao farming does not require cutting down the rain forest. The tree grows best under the shade of the canopy of the rainforest. Also the cacao tree requires high maintenance for successful cultivation and is therefore best grown by farmers with a small plot of land, usually 20-30 acres of land. It does not grow successfully in a large scale plantation setting. Because of this, cacao essentially has two important functions in connection with the rainforest:
- 1. It provides revenue for extremely poor communities, and
- 2. It does this without destroying the important forest habitats that it depends on.