Rainforest Alliance Invests $15.5 Million to Prepare Cameroon Crops for Export Rules

Rainforest Alliance has invested $15.5 million (about CFA8.9 billion) since 2020 to support certification and sustainable farming programs across three of Cameroon’s main agricultural landscapes.

According to the organization’s five-year activity report, the investments have been directed to the Dja, Western Highlands, and Grand Mbam landscapes. Together, the programs cover about one million hectares and have benefited around 120,000 people.

The initiative comes as international markets tighten sustainability requirements, particularly under the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which requires companies to prove that products such as cocoa and coffee do not come from land deforested after December 31, 2020.

For Cameroon’s export industries, certification is becoming more than a marketing label. It is increasingly a condition for producers, cooperatives, and exporters seeking to maintain access to European markets.

In the cocoa sector, major buyers are investing in helping farmers meet traceability, sustainability, and quality requirements. Once producers comply with these standards, organizations such as Rainforest Alliance issue certifications verifying that agricultural, environmental, and social requirements have been met.

Grand Mbam becomes a model for sustainable cocoa

Rainforest Alliance describes the Grand Mbam landscape as a strategic area for the future of Cameroon’s cocoa industry. The organization invested more than $5.2 million (about CFA3 billion) there to strengthen farmers’ skills, improve local governance, and support the transition to deforestation-free supply chains.

According to the report, the organization has supported producers, cooperatives, communities, and companies in building more responsible cocoa supply chains. It says the initiative is gradually positioning Grand Mbam as a national model for sustainable cocoa production by combining economic performance, forest conservation, and compliance with the EUDR.

The program has supported 65,000 cocoa farmers organized into 25 cooperatives across more than 120 villages. Rainforest Alliance also reports 21 active certificates in the area and the participation of five major cocoa supply chain companies.

The investments have also strengthened systems for preventing and monitoring deforestation in key cocoa-growing areas while increasing community participation in forest management and governance.

Dja and Western Highlands focus on restoration and agroforestry

In Cameroon’s Western Highlands, Rainforest Alliance invested $4.6 million to support landscape restoration, territorial governance, and rural livelihoods. In this major potato-growing region, 251 hectares have been restored to help protect mountain ecosystems and critical watersheds. More than 114,000 seedlings have also been produced and planted as part of ecological restoration and agroforestry programs.

In the Dja landscape in southern Cameroon, Rainforest Alliance invested $5.6 million (about CFA3.2 billion) to support local communities, including efforts to revive cocoa production, which had gradually declined in the area.

In 2025, farmers in the landscape marketed more than 95,000 kilograms of cocoa, generating CFA238.5 million in revenue. Sustainable farming practices also enabled nearly 150 cocoa farmers to receive more than CFA7 million in sustainability premiums.

The report also highlights more than 330 hectares of certified cocoa farms, over 60,000 cocoa seedlings produced and distributed, and 200 hectares of cocoa farms that were rehabilitated through densification.

“The results we see today are not measured only in restored hectares or planted trees,” said William Malla, Rainforest Alliance Country Director for Cameroon. “They also include restored water sources, more productive land, and communities taking ownership of the future of their landscapes.”

Rainforest Alliance is now rolling out a new version of its Sustainable Agriculture Standard, which places greater emphasis on soil health, crop resilience, water management, biodiversity, and social impacts.

For Cameroonian producers, this marks a shift in how competitiveness is measured. Success increasingly depends not only on production volumes, but also on the ability to demonstrate the origin, compliance, and sustainability of exported products.

As international markets continue to tighten sustainability requirements, certification programs could become an increasingly important tool for maintaining export markets, particularly for cocoa. Their long-term impact, however, will depend on farmers’ adoption of the standards, cooperatives’ ability to ensure traceability, and whether sustainability efforts translate into higher incomes for farming communities.

Ludovic Amara