We often think of innovation as purely technical. But real innovation also lies in who we bring together - especially when we connect organizations that don’t naturally collaborate to tackle challenges that can otherwise seem impossible.
Rehabilitating cocoa landscapes at scale is one such challenge. It requires fresh thinking, new partnerships, and practical ways of working that bridge science, finance, and on-the-ground action.
Today, Earthworm Foundation is pleased to announce a new partnership with Landscape Alliance (formerly CIFOR-ICRAF) and Finance Earth to develop a scalable, landscape level model for cocoa rehabilitation in West Africa.
This collaboration brings together complementary strengths:
• Earthworm Foundation will draw on its experience in convening diverse actors across supply chains and landscapes, facilitating dialogue and driving coordinated action on the ground. In Soubré in Côte d’Ivoire, where this collaboration will begin, Earthworm has been leading landscape initiatives since 2016, with an active programme across cocoa, palm, and rubber supply chains.
• Landscape Alliance contributes deep scientific expertise, with more than a decade of research and data, including work on Cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus (CSSV), disease mapping algorithms at landscape level, a dedicated swollen shoot laboratory, agroforestry models, evidence based approaches to restoration alongside a genebank of valuable tree species.
• Finance Earth brings a decade of experience in designing, launching and managing innovative blended financing mechanisms, unlocking capital at scale to drive more resilient and sustainable systems.
Together, this partnership forms the foundation of the design of the West Africa Cocoa Resilience Facility, a science backed, investor-ready approach to restoring cocoa landscapes at scale.
Cocoa in West Africa is facing a systemic crisis that demands:
- Coordinated action across sectors, supported by blended finance
- Proven, trusted solutions built on years of field experience and research
- Practical, results-driven execution within complex supply chain realities
By combining landscape finance, action, and science, this collaboration aims to turn these requirements into reality, creating a model that can be scaled and adapted across the region.
We will be sharing more in the coming months about what this partnership will deliver in practice, and how it contributes to tackling the systemic challenges facing cocoa landscapes today.
