Project Duration: May 2025 – May 2026
Country: Côte d’Ivoire
Key Objective: By piloting biochar production from farm waste on an industrial scale and applying it on cocoa farms, this project aims to show that agricultural waste can become an opportunity for farmers.
Background
Côte d’Ivoire is the world’s largest cocoa and cashew producer and the third-largest coffee producer in sub-Saharan Africa. Cocoa husks are currently a waste product and present a serious disposal problem. Harvested cocoa pods are collected at a central location on the cocoa farm, where they are broken, the cocoa beans removed, and the husks discarded. Each year, an estimated 30-40 million Mt of biomass is produced with limited productive use, contributing to high carbon dioxide emissions and fungal diseases, such as black pod disease.
Project Aims
With the support of SWISSCO, we are piloting a circular supply chain that transforms cocoa farm waste into industrial biochar. The biochar is being returned to farmers as a green fertiliser to improve yields and capture carbon on cocoa farms. This approach is fully integrated into the cocoa supply chain, supporting local livelihoods, strengthening climate resilience, and preparing for future carbon monetisation, thereby advancing low-carbon cocoa production.
This project will upcycle biomass, improve farmers’ access to high-quality green fertiliser that enhances soil health and stores carbon in the ground, and create additional income streams for farmers. Mechnisms will be developed to monetise carbon emission reduction and sequestration through insetting and offsetting. The project brings this climate-smart innovation into a commercially viable supply chain, creating long-term value, improving soil fertility, and reducing cocoa’s carbon footprint.
The biochar production unit will be part of a Zero Waste Facility, which will upcycle all parts of the cacao fruit and includes the production of cocoa juice. Cocoa juice production is designed as a women-centred business model, where women will be engaged as the collectors, processors, and marketers.
Building a Sustainable Cocoa Model
The project pilots a circular, zero-waste model that embeds industrial-scale biochar production into the cocoa supply chain by turning cocoa waste into a resource for long-term soil health, increased yields, and climate resilience. Processing farm-level cocoa waste reduces on-farm methane emissions and replaces synthetic fertilisers with a carbon-negative input. This shift not only cuts emissions but also boosts productivity on underperforming farms, which are common in Côte d’Ivoire. We aim to scale this model with consistent quality and volume, developing compensation and distribution models for farmers. A key focus is assessing biochar’s carbon sequestration potential to unlock carbon finance and promote fair value distribution.
Piloting and Testing
The project will be centred in the Daloa region of Côte d’Ivoire, a major cocoa trading hub. The first step is to improve how cocoa waste is collected and prepared. A pilot biochar machine will then be used to test how well it performs and the quality of the biochar it produces. In collaboration with local partners, biochar-based fertiliser blends will be developed and tested on cocoa and other crops. To ensure farmers benefit as much as possible, different reward options are being tested—such as giving them cash or fertiliser in exchange for their cocoa waste. This helps to determine what works best for both their farms and incomes. The business case for this innovation will rely on the sale of the final products as well as carbon monetisation. Two key carbon monetisation approaches – offsetting and insetting – are being explored and developed. Other sustainability activities help amplify the impact of the intervention, including climate-smart cocoa training, on-farm soil testing, agroforestry, and child labour monitoring.
Reinventing An Ancient Practice
Applying biochar is a 10,000 year-old practice used in the Amazon Basin, this project brings it up to date as a scalable, climate-smart cocoa farming model.
The project innovates by:
- Upcycling cocoa waste into biochar-based fertilisers that can replace synthetic alternatives
- Providing Cocoa farmers with an additional source of income by rewarding them for their biomass
- Returning Biochar-based fertiliser to farms to help boost yields and improve soil health
- Unlocking Carbon finance opportunities by generating carbon credits through biochar use.
“We are trying something new that isn’t common in the cocoa industry, as pods are often wasted and rarely monetised. We started biochar production on a small scale and have already seen the positive benefits in terms of carbon sequestration. This project will take these climate and farmer benefits to the next level.”
Joel Angoran, Specialist Agroforestry & Environment
Scalability
The project aims to build a model for industrial biochar production that can strengthen sustainable cocoa supply chains across producing regions. The project tests the model’s potential, assesses its impact, and lays the foundation for future investment and scale-up. Insights into biochar’s benefits for farming will support the development and commercialisation of new fertiliser blends. At the same time, the project is building a transparent carbon monetisation framework to measure and value emissions reductions, helping the cocoa sector access climate finance and move toward insetting. Over time, we hope that low-carbon biochar-powered cocoa can set a new industry standard.
Partners:
