News

Agricultural land use across Africa needs to transform towards approaches that avoid deforestation and benefit biodiversity while supporting farmer livelihoods. Such transformation is crucial as agriculture often drives deforestation and biodiversity loss. However, balancing trade-offs between agricultural production and biodiversity conservation remains a critical and complex challenge, particularly for commodities like cocoa, coffee, and oil palm, whose local and international demand continue to surge. African countries use about 15.3 million hectares to produce these commodities, which contribute substantially to global production. Alone, cocoa produced in Africa accounts for 63–70 percent of the global production. Coffee and oil palm, which originate from Africa, play key roles in the socio-culture of various African communities while serving as sources of food and beverages, locally and internationally. All three commodities support local and national economies, providing income and employment for millions of smallholder farmers. This contribution examines various land use strategies related to these commodities and their intersections with proximate and distant factors, by discussing (1) how their land use has changed over time, (2) the interacting local and global drivers of land demand for these commodities, (3) farmer livelihoods, land management strategies and their environmental and livelihood trade-offs, and (4) how other social, economic and political factors challenge or foster sustainable land use across selected cases. The contribution concludes by exploring the implications for farmer livelihoods, consumers and the global commodity sector. It highlights various measures at local to global levels, including Switzerland, to promote sustainable land use practices and commodities.