The Board of Directors of the Green Climate Fund (GVC) today approved an $11.8 million project to support cocoa production without deforestation in Côte d'Ivoire. The project implemented by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in collaboration with the country's Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (MINEDD). This project is the first REDD+ proposal in Africa and globally to be approved under the GCF Simplified Approval Process (PAS) Pilot Program. It is also the first FAO funding proposal approved by the GCF in Africa.

The newly funded initiative aims to support Côte d'Ivoire's efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, build resilience, and mitigate the effects of climate change. To do this, it will be a question of ending deforestation linked to agriculture, improving agricultural productivity, maintaining biodiversity, restoring forest cover and improving the livelihoods of farmers.

“With this significant support from the Green Climate Fund, we want to support a new agricultural model without deforestation in Côte d'Ivoire and start a transition path to a low-carbon economy and a more resilient future,” said Samy Gaiji, FAO Representative in Côte d'Ivoire.

A win-win situation for farmers and the climate

This West African country is one of the largest cocoa producers in the world, and cocoa farming is essential for the livelihood of around two million small-scale farmers. Côte d'Ivoire also has one of the fastest rates of deforestation and forest degradation in the world. Agriculture is responsible for almost two-thirds of deforestation, 38 percent of which is due to cocoa production.

The project will take advantage of a successful REDD+ pilot project in the La Mé region in the south-east of the country, where cocoa farmers have been supported to develop sustainable, organic and equitable cocoa production, without deforestation. As part of the project, partnerships will also be created with national and international private sector investors for greater impact.

Around 7,550 farmers, a third of whom are women, will benefit directly from the project, and another 600,000 farmers will receive indirect benefits during the five years of its implementation. Project managers aim to replicate good practices in other regions for possible adoption at the national level.

The project will also contribute to the achievement of the goals of the national REDD+ strategy aimed at strengthening institutional and regulatory systems, and improving the monitoring and management of land and forests.