Minister Laurent TCHAGBA brings the voice of Côte d'Ivoire through a presentation on the theme “Forest Policy, Imported Deforestation and Envisaged Measures”.

Rome _Italy, September 15, 2022_

Faced with more than 400 participants in the European Cocoa Forum, the Minister of Water and Forests presented the actions carried out and in progress by the State of Côte d'Ivoire to fight against imported deforestation.

Thus, after the brief presentation of agricultural performance in Côte d'Ivoire, Minister TCHAGBA recalled the decline in forest cover, which fell from 16 million hectares in 1900 to 2.97 million hectares in 2021.

He also listed the reforms undertaken at the National and International levels and the actions under way as part of the implementation of the Strategy for the Preservation, Rehabilitation and Extension of Forests in order to achieve the goal of 6 million forests, in particular (i) the commitment to the promotion of zero deforestation agriculture, (ii) the development of zero deforestation agriculture, (ii) the development of partnerships with the private sector, (iii) the development of a national traceability system, (iv) the commitment to the promotion of zero deforestation agriculture, (ii) the development of partnerships with the private sector, (iii) the development of a national traceability system, (iv)) the adoption of the African standard ARS _2099 for sustainable cocoa and (v) the continuation of discussion with the European Union on imported deforestation.

However, much remains to be done to

achieve the expected results in 2030. The implementation of the strategy will cost 616 billion CFA francs. Minister Laurent TCHAGBA has therefore launched an appeal to all partners and the private sector to mobilize these resources.