By Nanga Koné, Country Director Rainforest Alliance Côte d’Ivoire

One fact is hard to ignore : Over time, the widespread and often poorly controlled use of pesticides has degraded soils, disrupted ecosystems, and put the health of many cocoa farmers at risk, particularly where systemic constraints limit access to training, protective equipment, and lower-risk alternatives.

Reliance on “quick fix” solutions has also accelerated pest resistance, deepening farmers’ dependence on pesticides. At the same time, high residue levels of certain active ingredients, some of which are banned in key export markets, raise concerns about regulatory compliance and competitiveness*. Together, these agronomic, economic, and regulatory pressures create a complex reality.

In Côte d’Ivoire, this challenge is compounded by the gap between pesticides that are widely available on the local market and those prohibited in strictly regulated sustainability standards —a discrepancy that complicates efforts to monitor, restrict, and phase out highly hazardous substances (HHPs), active ingredients associated with severe or irreversible risks to human and environmental health.

This complexity has led sustainability frameworks, like the Rainforest Alliance Certification Program, to include mechanisms focused on managing transitions away from HHPs, rather than outright forbidding them in a way that will place undue burdens on farmers.

The situation raises an important question: how can we continue producing cocoa without compromising human health and the environment?

The answer lies not only in good intentions, but also carefully managed transitions towards safer pest management practices, supported by strong commitments and coordinated actions across the cocoa sector to protect both farmers’ livelihoods and the environment.

A history shaped by the large-scale introduction of pesticides

From the 1960s, at the time of independence, Ivorian cocoa farmers began using pesticides to address mirid infestations, a pest responsible for significant pod losses. Their use quickly expanded. Between the late 1960s and the 1980s, the Government of Côte d’Ivoire, through the Ivorian Technical Assistance Agency for Agricultural Modernization (SATMACI), heavily subsidized these products to promote widespread adoption in an effort to safeguard the country’s “economic miracle,” largely driven by cocoa exports. With market liberalization in the 1990s, the sector was opened to private operators. Organochlorines, considered too persistent and toxic, were gradually replaced by organophosphates, pyrethroids, and later neonicotinoids in the 2000s, reflecting evolving environmental and health concerns and growing pest resistance.

This increasing reliance on pesticides mirrors a broader global agricultural reality: between 20 and 40 percent of crops are lost each year to pests and diseases (FAO). Plant diseases alone cost the global economy an estimated US$220 billion annually, while insect pests account for nearly US$70 billion. The global crop protection market was valued between US$64 and $68 billion in 2024 (Fortune Business Insights).

Between sustainability programs and on-the-ground realities

Driven by sustainability programs, such as Rainforest Alliance Certification, many farmers around the world have adopted more environmentally responsible practices and a more measured approach to pesticide use. In Côte d’Ivoire, however, the picture remains mixed. Persistent pest pressure that is deeply rooted in local practices, and the low-cost, or even free, availability of certain products through national or local programs, continues to fuel the use of HHPs. Substances that are banned or restricted by the European Union, listed in Rainforest Alliance´s Prohibited Pesticides List (Annex to Chapter 4 of the Standard) or only allowed under the Exceptional Use Policy (EUP) as a temporary and limited exception, remain available on the Ivorian market:

• Imidacloprid: a neonicotinoid banned in Europe for outdoor use due to its severe impact on pollinators and environmental toxicity.
• Abamectin: subject to widespread withdrawal of authorizations in Europe because of its extreme toxicity to aquatic life and bees.
• Chlorpyrifos: fully banned in the EU since 2020 due to its genotoxic and neurotoxic effects.
• Glufosinate ammonium: banned in Europe because of its toxicity for human reproduction.

These products remain easily accessible to Ivorian farmers, some of whom view them as immediate responses to pest pressure. Yet because residues of highly hazardous active ingredients can persist in cocoa beans, these farmers face risks of rejection in international export markets, as well as potential health concerns for local consumers of cocoa and chocolate. This leaves us facing a dual challenge: protecting human health while safeguarding the competitiveness of Ivorian cocoa.

The role of certification and integrated pest management

Within the Rainforest Alliance Certification Program, pesticide use is strictly regulated, and active ingredients classified as HHPs according to the FAO/WHO criteria are prohibited. Our Sustainable Agriculture Standard—a set of rigorous requirements that farmers and companies must meet to achieve certification—is built around Integrated Pest Management (IPM), an approach that prioritizes agroecological balance, prevention, monitoring, and context-specific control measures.

The goal is not to eliminate pests entirely, but to keep their populations below acceptable thresholds. This approach protects ecosystems, lowers production costs, and improves farmers’ health. Around 1.3 million cocoa farmers worldwide, including approximately 790,000 in Côte d’Ivoire, are subject to these requirements.

At the same time, the Rainforest Alliance recognizes the complexity of the cocoa production context in Côte d’Ivoire. For this reason, we have established a temporary and binding exceptional use mechanism as defined under our Exceptional Use Policy (EUP). This is intended exclusively to enable crop protection as a last resort when pest or weed pressure exceeds economic thresholds, and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) measures are insufficient.

This policy is not intended to expand, normalize, or prolong the use of HHPs, nor does it constitute an automatic authorization subject to renewal. It seeks to avoid abrupt bans that could jeopardize the livelihoods of thousands of families, while maintaining clear expectations and a defined pathway toward the progressive elimination of these dangerous chemicals. Its continuation is not guaranteed and depends exclusively on the demonstration of real, verifiable, and documented progress toward an effective transition to lower-toxicity alternatives that are not classified as HHPs, in line with the requirements of the Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Agriculture Standard.

Investing in life

The responsibility of this transition cannot rest on farmers alone. It is time to accelerate the phase-out of HHPs on Ivorian cocoa farms and for governments, companies, and organizations to support farmers in adopting viable solutions.

At the Rainforest Alliance, we believe the answer lies in collective action. This requires close coordination and collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development, and Food Production, the Coffee-Cocoa Council, buying companies, cooperatives, and technical partners to progressively move away from HHPs. Removing these substances from cocoa production is an investment in life—a necessary commitment to farmers and their families, consumers, and the ecosystems that sustain the entire sector. We must move forward together, because the future of Côte d’Ivoire’s agricultural industry will not be measured by yields alone, but by our collective ability to protect the people and the lands that feed us.

*European Commission, Regulation (EU) 2023/334, 2023 (MRLs for clothianidin and thiamethoxam) / ECA & CAOBISCO, Manual on Pesticide Use in Cocoa, 4th Edition (January 2023) / ECA & CAOBISCO, Chocolate & Cocoa Industry Quality Requirements, Edition 2 (December 2023).