How a project in Peru supports sustainable cocoa – and serves Swiss interests

Luis Beltrán Vásquez has recently become a cocoa farmer – it's more profitable. Caroline Dettling

Cocoa is in high demand and production is booming. In Peru, Switzerland is helping farmers grow cocoa more sustainably, while also ensuring Swiss chocolate producers have easy access to it. But funding for such projects in Latin America is shrinking. 

Luis Beltrán Vásquez, 78, has spent his entire life farming in Peru, mostly by raising livestock. Six years ago, he ventured into cocoa cultivation. “The price of cocoa is good. No other crop earns you as much money,” he says.

Demand for cocoa is constantly on the rise, a fact that has prompted more farmers to specialise in this crop, often regardless of the consequences. Rainforests are being cut down, including in San Martín, Peru’s main cocoa-growing region. And because cocoa is often cultivated as monoculture, farmers rely heavily on pesticides for pest control. But Vásquez wants to do things differently – he’s embraced the principle of agroforestry.

The idea behind agroforestry is to preserve as much biodiversity as possible. Rather than grow only cocoa, Vásquez cultivates bananas, beans, star apples, ginger, turmeric and a variety of plants typically found in the rainforest, cocoa’s natural habitat. In total, the farmer grows between eight and ten different plant species on his land.

This biodiversity makes the soil richer and more sustainable. The fields are not only more resilient in fighting off pests and surviving extreme weather, but they also yield more fruit and hence, more income. “If you take a bag full of star apples to the market, they will sell like hotcakes,” says Vásquez. Star apples do not fetch the price cocoa does, but they always find a buyer.

Vásquez did not need much convincing when his son suggested introducing agroforestry. “I do what my son tells me. After all, we sent him to university for a reason.” Switching to agroforestry did not cost him much. It was made possible by the Paisajes Sostenibles project run by the Swiss non-governmental organisation Helvetas.

Cocoa is often cultivated as a monoculture. However, it is often more profitable for farmers to cultivate cocoa trees according to the principles of agroforestry. Caroline Dettling

Project with Swiss support

Paisajes Sostenibles (sustainable landscapes) is an initiative for sustainable cocoa farming that brings together Peruvian and Swiss organisations. As a country known for its chocolate, Switzerland is eager to secure access to sustainably grown cocoa in a highly competitive global market. Cocoa is an important commodity for the small European nation, and the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) has made it a priority to back this agroforestry project with CHF1.4 million ($1.7 million).

“We want to support the San Martín region to develop sustainable cocoa production,” says Massimo Bloch, head of economic cooperation and development at the Swiss embassy in Peru. Through economic development cooperation, Switzerland supports local actors while also safeguarding the interests of the Swiss chocolate industry.

+ Rollercoaster cocoa prices remain high

In Latin American, Switzerland is currently engaged in development cooperation in Colombia and Peru. From 2029, however, this will be restricted to just Peru. All other bilateral support programmes in the region financed by Switzerland closed down at the end of 2024 as part of a revised strategy to target a smaller number of countries worldwide. Switzerland is maintaining a handful of humanitarian aid measures for protracted crises in the region, such as Haiti, as well as for disaster risk reduction and emergency response.

Continued withdrawal from Latin America

One reason for scaling back development cooperation is that the World Bank has continuously upgraded Latin American countries based on their economic performance, despite deep social inequality and high poverty rates. Although Switzerland has made clear its intention to remain engaged in economic development cooperation in Latin America, investment in this area is also falling.

“These cuts do not mean that we have less impact,” says Bloch. “They allow us to focus on projects that deliver good results, can be scaled up, and give us the chance to involve the private sector more closely.” One such example is the cocoa project in San Martín, where chocolate producers such as Lindt & Sprüngli, Halba and Choba Choba cover the costs while Helvetas implements the project.

Shrinking funds for foreign aid

Asier Hernando Malax-Echevarría argues that projects like this cannot be considered development cooperation.

“This is entrepreneurial cooperation,” says the professor for development and cooperation at IE University in Madrid, who also lectures at several universities in Peru. The San Martín cocoa project, he says, has had its impact and it is absolutely legitimate for Switzerland to be concerned about its own cocoa imports. But in the current global context, where democracies in Latin America and beyond are under pressure, Malax-Echevarría says more cooperation is needed that does not ask for anything in return.

In 2024, 0.4% of Switzerland’s gross national income  was allocated to international cooperation, a figure that falls well below the United Nations target of 0.7%. Most Western countries are currently cutting foreign aid, a trend Malax-Echevarría finds baffling. “Only three years ago, everyone believed in international cooperation,” he says. “Why has this changed?” The world is more interconnected than ever, he argues, and a small share of rich countries’ wealth must go towards global and collective challenges. “This is development cooperation.”

He also warns that Switzerland and Europe will lose ground in Latin America when they scale back development cooperation. At the same time, China is expanding its presence. But “China is not interested in civil society, democracy or human rights as Western countries understand them,” says Malax-Echevarría.

Geopolitics call for Switzerland’s presence

Even as Switzerland scales back its projects in Latin America, it will remain present in San Martín. Funding for Paisajes Sostenibles is secured. In addition to farmers and chocolate producers, representatives from universities and politics as well as rainforest rangers are also involved in the project. “At one point, the project’s goal should be embedded in regional politics, so that the region can mobilise its own resources without having a foreign partner on the ground,” says Bloch.

He does not agree that Switzerland will lose its standing in Latin America when it scales back its operations. He says the country has proven to be a reliable partner over many decades. Still, in the current geopolitical context, he considers it important to remain in Peru. “Economic development cooperation aims to create a framework that allows companies operating in Peru to grow sustainably.” If the market becomes less transparent and less fair, Switzerland will have a problem as well.

Dependent on Peruvian cocoa

The Association of Swiss Chocolate Manufacturers, Chocosuisse, has pledged that all cocoa imported into Switzerland will be sustainably produced by 2030. The European Union – the most important export market for Swiss chocolate – also plans to allow in only products proven to be deforestation-free from the end of 2026. Peru is the world’s second-largest producer of sustainably grown cocoa.

One year after the start of the project, the agroforestry area in San Martín is still manageable, covering just five hectares in total. The goal is for these areas to serve as an example and encourage other farmers in Peru to adopt more sustainable cultivation.

Edited by Benjamin von Wyl. Adapted from German by Billi Bierling/gw