Study Explores The Risk Of Deforestation As Demand Of Cocoa Increases
Africa is the largest continent in terms of cocoa production. Nearly about 70 percent of world's cocoa is produced there. It is very much possible that every time a human bites a chocolate bar, it contains cocoa produced by this country. Africa requires carving more than 325,000 acres of new farmland every year from the forests.
According to Stanford news, a Stanford study has been done regarding the agricultural expansion in Africa. The study shows that how the demand for commodity crops such as cocoa from international market is affecting sub-Saharan Africa's tropical forests. The study and its findings were published in Environmental Research letter.
The study suggests the reason for policymakers that the decisions regarding deforestation can be tailored around. Elsa Ordway, who is a graduate student of Stanford's School of Earth, Energy and Environmental Sciences, is the lead author of the study. "We are starting to better understand issues related to large-scale agricultural expansion in the tropics such as Africa," she stated.
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