Cocoa farming and biodiversity conservation

Farmers in the Department of Oumé which is an area of high cocoa production spare or introduce plant species into their cocoa plantations. Our study by comparing the floristic parameters of cocoa plantations aimed to contribute to the knowledge of the plants used by the farmers of the Oumé region in order to evaluate the importance of these plants in their lives. Species inventories and ethnobotanical surveys carried out in cocoa plantations and among farmers enabled us to know that the three ethnic groups studied (Baoulé Gagou Mossi) practice an agroforestry system adapted to their socio-economic habits and influenced by their origin. Thus the Mossi introduce a greater number of species into their plantations while the Baoule and Gagou apart from spontaneous species for food use preserve a large number of species used in the pharmacopoeia and in handicrafts respectively. Within the plantations the most frequent and important species preserved are Elaeis guineensis Ricinodendron heudelotii and Irvingia gabonensis.