However, while growing cocoa in full sun without incorporating shade plants can temporarily increase cocoa yields, it will eventually decrease the quality of the soil due to nutrient loss, desertification and erosion, leading to unsustainable yields and dependency on inorganic fertilizers.

Sweating is important for the quality of the beans, [34] which originally have a strong, bitter taste.The 2010 documentary The Dark Side of Chocolate revealed that children smuggled from Mali to the Ivory Coast were forced to earn income for their parents, while others were sold as slaves for €230.

Agroforestry can reduce the pressure on existing protected forests for resources, such as firewood, and conserve biodiversity. The cacao tree grows in a limited geographical zone, and today, West Africa produces nearly 81% of the world's crop.

A memorandum between these three initiatives was signed in 2020 to measure and address issues including child labor, living income, deforestation and supply chain transparency. Prior to planting cocoa, leguminous cover crops can improve the soil nutrients and structure, which are important in areas where cocoa is produced due to high heat and rainfall which can diminish soil quality. This hybrid strain spread from the Caribbean islands to South America in the 19th and 20th centuries.