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SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE / COCOA FARMING

In Sao Tome and Principe, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is supporting cocoa farmers - especially women producers - with improved agroforestry techniques and organic and fair-trade certifications.

Country Sao Tome and Principe

Duration 2m25s

Edit Version International

Video Type Video News Release (VNR)

Date 09/18/2025

File size 321.16 MB

Unique ID UF1AIED

Production details and shotlist

Shotlist STORY: SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE / COCOA FARMING
TRT: 2:25
SOURCE: FAO
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT FAO ON SCREEN
LANGUAGE: PORTUGUESE /NATS

DATELINE: 2-6 JUNE 2025, SAO TOME ISLAND, SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE

SHOTLIST:

1. Various shots, workers at the cocoa plantation
2. Various shots, Camila harvesting cocoa
3. SOUNDBITE (Portuguese) Camila Varela De Carvalho, cocoa farmer:
“Before CECAB, we harvested cocoa, and tractors came to buy it. When the tractor was full, they almost didn't buy any cocoa. But now with CECAB, whenever you arrive, you can sell your cocoa.”
4. Various shots, Camila serving meal to her children
5. Wide shot, Oliveira walking through a plantation
6. Wide shot, Oliviera taking with a worker
7. SOUNDBITE (Portuguese) Faustino Oliveira, the FAO national project coordinator:
“The cocoa production depends on forest cover, mainly from big trees. So, there was a need to help these cooperatives rehabilitate, through planting and restocking techniques.”
8. Wide shot, workers in nursery
9. Med shot, Dodamin trimming a plant
10. Wide shot, Dodamin planting a cocoa sapling
11. Close up, Dodamin planting a cocoa sapling
12. SOUNDBITE (Portuguese) Dodamin Semedo Correia, cocoa farmer:
“The cooperative gave us management training, to learn how to manage our money and our production.”
13. Areal shot, forest
14. Areal shot, pan right, forest with sea in the background
15. Wide shot, CECAB chocolate factory
16. Various shots ,workers making and packing chocolate
17. SOUNDBITE (Portuguese) Antonia dos Lantos Neto, manager of CECAB’s chocolate factory:
“Last year, we participated in the EuroChocolate fair in Italy. It was fantastic. We offered our chocolate, people bought it, they ate it, they liked it a lot.”
18. Various shots, workers processing cocoa beans
19. Areal shot, village surrounded by forest

Script Sao Tome and Principe, an island country of the coast of West Africa, relies heavily on cocoa production to support local livelihoods. Lush with rainforests and cocoa plantations, the island is rich in biodiversity but faces increasing forest and land degradation due to agricultural expansion, changes in land use and the impacts of climate change.

Working with cocoa cooperatives in Sao Tom, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the national government, launched a project to restore degraded forest ecosystems and enhance sustainable cocoa production as part of the Restoration Initiative (TRI).

In Sao Tome and Principe, TRI supports cocoa farmers—especially women producers—with improved agroforestry techniques and organic and fair-trade certifications.

FAO partnered with CECAB, an organic cocoa cooperative, uniting 37 producer groups and benefiting more than 2 000 families.

One of the members is Camila Varela De Carvalho, a 32-year-old cocoa farmer and mother of four.

“Before CECAB, we harvested cocoa, and tractors came to buy it…When the tractor was full, they almost didn't buy any cocoa. But now with CECAB, whenever you arrive, you can sell your cocoa,” said Camila.

The money Camila earns from selling her highest-yielding crop, cocoa, now allows her to cover her family's living expenses and her children's education, with enough left to last until the end of the year.

Since 2019, TRI restored more than 8 000 hectares of agroforestry areas with the collaboration of 3 500 farmers. The goal is to reach 36 000 hectares, or one third of the country by 2030.

“The cocoa production depends on forest cover, mainly from big trees. So, there was a need to help these cooperatives rehabilitate, through planting and restocking techniques,” said Faustino Oliveira, the FAO national project coordinator.

The project established nurseries to grow endemic fruit and other tree species with now over 240 980 seedlings mainly produced and planted in agroforestry plots on both the Sao Tome and Principe islands.

“The cooperative gave us management training, to learn how to manage our money and our production,” said Dodamin Semedo Correia, cocoa farmer, who credits the project for improving his and his family’s living conditions.

In 2024, Sao Tome and Príncipe’s cocoa agroforestry was recognized by FAO as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS). In these traditional gardens, farmers grow a unique and significant variety of cocoa, the Amelonado variety, alongside other fruit trees, creating forest landscapes. This way of farming, passed down for generations, has helped families like Camila’s keep their land fertile, protect water sources and face climate challenges with resilience.

The GIAHS recognition also opens the door to organic and fair-trade certifications, stronger value chains and greater visibility for cocoa farmers.

To ensure that farmers benefit from every step of the cocoa value chain, CECAB established its own chocolate factory in Guadaloupe, on Sao Tome island.

“Last year, we participated in the EuroChocolate fair in Italy. It was fantastic. We offered our chocolate, people bought it, they ate it, they liked it a lot,” says Antonia dos Lantos Neto, manager of CECAB’s chocolate factory.

Funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and in collaboration with International Union for Conservation of Nature and the United Nations Environment Programme, TRI supports nine countries in their journey to restore ecosystems and degraded landscapes.

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SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE / COCOA FARMING

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