Can cooperative membership foster compliance with New European Union regulations on deforestation-free production? Evidence from cocoa farmers in Western Côte d'Ivoire
Cocoa cultivation (Theobroma cacao) in Côte d'Ivoire faces significant challenges, including deforestation, poverty, and child labour. Like other countries involved in the production and export of palm oil, cattle, soy, coffee, cocoa, timber, and rubber, Côte d'Ivoire now faces the challen...
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Elsevier
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Trees, Forests and People |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666719325001232 |
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| author | Hamza Moluh Njoya Sofía Cristóbal Reyes Koumbo Alberic Hien Franziska Ollendorf Bonna Antoinette Tokou Constant Yves Adou Yao Stefan Sieber Katharina Löhr |
| author_facet | Hamza Moluh Njoya Sofía Cristóbal Reyes Koumbo Alberic Hien Franziska Ollendorf Bonna Antoinette Tokou Constant Yves Adou Yao Stefan Sieber Katharina Löhr |
| author_sort | Hamza Moluh Njoya |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Cocoa cultivation (Theobroma cacao) in Côte d'Ivoire faces significant challenges, including deforestation, poverty, and child labour. Like other countries involved in the production and export of palm oil, cattle, soy, coffee, cocoa, timber, and rubber, Côte d'Ivoire now faces the challenge of meeting new European Union regulations on deforestation-free production (EUDR) by June 2025, posing multiple questions and challenges on implementation. While agricultural cooperatives play a vital role in disseminating information, building skills, and enhancing farming practices, their impact on EUDR awareness is underexplored. This study examines the effect of cooperative membership on awareness of the new EUDR among cocoa farmers. We applied a mixed-methods approach combining Propensity Score Matching (PSM) and Inverse Probability Weighting with Regression Adjustment Estimator based on a 2024 household survey (N = 218 households) and 12 focus group discussions (N = 144) involving cooperative and non-cooperative cocoa farmers in the central-west and western regions of Côte d'Ivoire. Descriptive statistics reveal significant differences between the two groups of farmers in terms of demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. Cooperative members are predominantly male, older, and more educated compared to non-cooperative members, with larger households and bigger farms. They also have better access to credit, extension services, and training resources, leading to higher cocoa yields. PSM analysis reveals that cooperative members exhibited higher awareness of EUDR requirements, with results consistent across different matching methods and robust to potential hidden biases, suggesting a possible association between membership and access to EUDR-related information. While the findings indicate a strong association between cooperative membership and EUDR awareness, further research is needed to examine whether this awareness translates into actual changes in compliance behavior. These findings underscore the important role cooperatives can play in enhancing awareness of sustainability regulations like the EUDR and inform policy initiatives aimed at strengthening cooperative participation. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a18201d435b447c886e56a26b97e94c2 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2666-7193 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
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| series | Trees, Forests and People |
| spelling | doaj-art-a18201d435b447c886e56a26b97e94c22025-08-20T02:32:19ZengElsevierTrees, Forests and People2666-71932025-06-012010089710.1016/j.tfp.2025.100897Can cooperative membership foster compliance with New European Union regulations on deforestation-free production? Evidence from cocoa farmers in Western Côte d'IvoireHamza Moluh Njoya0Sofía Cristóbal Reyes1Koumbo Alberic Hien2Franziska Ollendorf3Bonna Antoinette Tokou4Constant Yves Adou Yao5Stefan Sieber6Katharina Löhr7Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Sustainable Land Use in Developing Countries, 15374 Müncheberg, Germany; Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, 10099 Berlin, Germany; Department of Rural Socio-Economics and Agricultural Extension, Faculty of Agronomy and Agricultural Sciences of the University of Dschang, 222 Dschang, Cameroon; Corresponding author at: Eberswalder Straß 84, 15374 Müncheberg, Germany.Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, 10099 Berlin, Germany; Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, BelgiumFaculty of Economic and Social Sciences, University Institute of Abidjan, Côte d’IvoireLeibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Sustainable Land Use in Developing Countries, 15374 Müncheberg, Germany; Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, 10099 Berlin, GermanyLeibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Sustainable Land Use in Developing Countries, 15374 Müncheberg, Germany; UFR Biosciences, Félix Houphouët-Boigny University, Cocody, Abidjan, Côte d’IvoireUFR Biosciences, Félix Houphouët-Boigny University, Cocody, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire; Switzer Centre of Scientific Research (CSRS), Abidjan, Route de Dabou, Côte d’IvoireLeibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Sustainable Land Use in Developing Countries, 15374 Müncheberg, Germany; Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, 10099 Berlin, GermanyLeibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Sustainable Land Use in Developing Countries, 15374 Müncheberg, Germany; Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, 10099 Berlin, Germany; Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (HNEE), Faculty of Forest and Environment, Alfred-Moeller-Str. 1, 16225 Eberswalde, GermanyCocoa cultivation (Theobroma cacao) in Côte d'Ivoire faces significant challenges, including deforestation, poverty, and child labour. Like other countries involved in the production and export of palm oil, cattle, soy, coffee, cocoa, timber, and rubber, Côte d'Ivoire now faces the challenge of meeting new European Union regulations on deforestation-free production (EUDR) by June 2025, posing multiple questions and challenges on implementation. While agricultural cooperatives play a vital role in disseminating information, building skills, and enhancing farming practices, their impact on EUDR awareness is underexplored. This study examines the effect of cooperative membership on awareness of the new EUDR among cocoa farmers. We applied a mixed-methods approach combining Propensity Score Matching (PSM) and Inverse Probability Weighting with Regression Adjustment Estimator based on a 2024 household survey (N = 218 households) and 12 focus group discussions (N = 144) involving cooperative and non-cooperative cocoa farmers in the central-west and western regions of Côte d'Ivoire. Descriptive statistics reveal significant differences between the two groups of farmers in terms of demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. Cooperative members are predominantly male, older, and more educated compared to non-cooperative members, with larger households and bigger farms. They also have better access to credit, extension services, and training resources, leading to higher cocoa yields. PSM analysis reveals that cooperative members exhibited higher awareness of EUDR requirements, with results consistent across different matching methods and robust to potential hidden biases, suggesting a possible association between membership and access to EUDR-related information. While the findings indicate a strong association between cooperative membership and EUDR awareness, further research is needed to examine whether this awareness translates into actual changes in compliance behavior. These findings underscore the important role cooperatives can play in enhancing awareness of sustainability regulations like the EUDR and inform policy initiatives aimed at strengthening cooperative participation.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666719325001232European union deforestation regulationCompliance, Cocoa farmersCooperative membership, Sustainable cocoa productionDeforestation |
| spellingShingle | Hamza Moluh Njoya Sofía Cristóbal Reyes Koumbo Alberic Hien Franziska Ollendorf Bonna Antoinette Tokou Constant Yves Adou Yao Stefan Sieber Katharina Löhr Can cooperative membership foster compliance with New European Union regulations on deforestation-free production? Evidence from cocoa farmers in Western Côte d'Ivoire Trees, Forests and People European union deforestation regulation Compliance, Cocoa farmers Cooperative membership, Sustainable cocoa production Deforestation |
| title | Can cooperative membership foster compliance with New European Union regulations on deforestation-free production? Evidence from cocoa farmers in Western Côte d'Ivoire |
| title_full | Can cooperative membership foster compliance with New European Union regulations on deforestation-free production? Evidence from cocoa farmers in Western Côte d'Ivoire |
| title_fullStr | Can cooperative membership foster compliance with New European Union regulations on deforestation-free production? Evidence from cocoa farmers in Western Côte d'Ivoire |
| title_full_unstemmed | Can cooperative membership foster compliance with New European Union regulations on deforestation-free production? Evidence from cocoa farmers in Western Côte d'Ivoire |
| title_short | Can cooperative membership foster compliance with New European Union regulations on deforestation-free production? Evidence from cocoa farmers in Western Côte d'Ivoire |
| title_sort | can cooperative membership foster compliance with new european union regulations on deforestation free production evidence from cocoa farmers in western cote d ivoire |
| topic | European union deforestation regulation Compliance, Cocoa farmers Cooperative membership, Sustainable cocoa production Deforestation |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666719325001232 |
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