Study reveals the complex causes of deforestation behind cocoa production in Ghana

Ghana is the world’s second largest cocoa grower after Côte d'Ivoire, producing 20% of world supply or 800,000 tonnes per year, despite recent bad harvests linked to climate change, crop disease and a lack of investment. However, Ghana has one of the highest deforestation rates in the world having lost around two thirds of its forest cover since 1950. While cocoa production is an important driver, its precise contribution compared to food crops, logging and mining are contested.

The study, conducted by researchers at UCLouvain, a Trase partner, set out to provide greater clarity on cocoa’s contribution to deforestation, both as a direct driver, where the expansion of cocoa production replaces forests, and as an indirect driver, where its expansion causes other crops to replace forest. The researchers used satellite maps and land-use data to quantify deforestation and forest degradation between 2000 and 2019 focusing on six regions in the high forest zone of southwest Ghana where cocoa is grown.

The results show that cocoa replaced 848,000 hectares of forest, representing 57% of total deforestation and degradation, making it the leading direct driver of forest loss over the period. The next most significant drivers were food crops and logging at 39%, mining (3%), tree plantations (2%) and settlements (<1%). Of these, the rapid expansion of mining has raised the most attention over recent years. Almost 30% of the deforestation for food crops was linked to the expansion of other land uses, which displaced food crops into areas of forest. About half of this was due to cocoa expansion.

In legally protected areas such as forest reserves, game reserves and national parks, the study found that cocoa was associated with around 20% of the direct and indirect deforestation. The Western region of Ghana was most affected by direct and indirect cocoa deforestation and degradation in 2000–2019. This is of particular concern as the region is home to large areas of undisturbed tropical forest.

The results of the study are particularly important to companies and policymakers in the European Union as it imports the majority of Ghana’s cocoa where it is mostly used to make chocolate. Cocoa from Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana is the leading source of deforestation exposure for the EU. It is hoped that the EU deforestation regulation, which is due to start at the end of 2025, will drive progress towards deforestation-free supplies of commodities including cocoa. However, pressure is mounting to further weaken the regulation due to opposition from some member states and businesses, putting the EU’s environmental goals in danger.

The study says that measures to clean up individual supply chains will not by themselves end deforestation in Ghana as indirect deforestation is not taken into account. In addition, cocoa grown on deforested land could instead be exported to countries in Asia, the second largest market for Ghana cocoa, which do not have regulations requiring deforestation-free supplies. Nor do such measures address the underlying social and economic drivers of deforestation in countries such as Ghana, which is dependent on cocoa production as a vital source of income and employment.

It recommends that policymakers develop landscape or jurisdictional approaches, where stakeholders collaborate to promote sustainable agriculture and land-use management that protects the environment, human rights and livelihoods. It also stresses the need to tackle underlying drivers of deforestation such as the primacy of industry growth, and poverty among farming communities, recommending structural changes in international trade relations, rebalancing power and wealth distribution.

For further information, read the research paper: Cécile Renier et al 2025. Direct and indirect deforestation for cocoa in the tropical moist forests of Ghana. Environ. Res.: Food Syst. 2 025006. DOI 10.1088/2976-601X/add01b

The research is part of the SUSTAIN-COCOA project, funded through the 2019–2020 BiodivERsA joint call for research proposals under the BiodivClim ERA-Net COFUND programme, and with funding from the Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique–FNRS under Grant n°PINT MULTI/BEJ – R.8002.20.

Trase has recently released a new dataset covering deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions linked to cocoa production in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana for 2024. The new data is available to explore and download at https://trase.earth/explore/spatial-data/map