Cocoa grown illegally in a Nigerian rainforest heads to companies that supply major chocolate makers

As the world’s demand for chocolate grows, cocoa farmers in Nigeria are moving into protected areas of a forest reserve that is home to endangered species like African forest elephants. Over the course of two visits and several days, The Associated Press repeatedly documented farmers harvesting cocoa beans where that work is banned in conservation areas of Omo Forest Reserve, a protected tropical rainforest 135 kilometers (84 miles) northeast of the coastal city of Lagos in southwestern Nigeria. Cocoa from the conservation zone is purchased by some of the world’s largest cocoa traders, according to company and trade documents and AP interviews with more than 20 farmers, five licensed buying agents and two brokers all operating within the reserve. The traders supply Nigerian cocoa to some of the world’s largest chocolate manufacturers, including Mars Inc. and Ferrero, but because the chocolate supply chain is so complex and opaque, it’s not clear if cocoa from deforested parts of Omo Forest Reserve makes it into the sweets that they make, such as Snickers, M&Ms, Butterfinger and Nutella. Mars and Ferrero list farming sources on their websites that are close to or overlap with the forest but do not provide specific locations. Farmers say they move into protected areas of the reserve because their cocoa trees in other parts of the West African country are aging and not producing as much. The farmers have been ordered not to start new farms, and those who spoke with AP said they are complying. But forest guards said new farms are sprouting up in remote areas that are difficult to detect. They told AP that previous arrests have done little to stop the farmers from returning and that has led to a sense of futility when they encounter illegal farming. The rangers—who work for the government’s conservation partner, the nonprofit Nigerian Conservation Foundation—and forest guards who are employed by the state government both told AP that lax government enforcement has made combating cocoa expansion a challenge. This article was provided by The Associated Press.