The cocoa commodity chain in the Peruvian and Ecuadorian Amazonia: Similar industrial upgrading processes but divergent socio-environmental constructions

Abstract

Purpose: Analyse the functioning of the Amazonian cocoa commodity chain works in Napo (Ecuador) and Tocache (Peru), focusing on the factors that shape its governance and attempts at its subversion through economic, social and environmental upgrading processes. 

Design/methodology/approach: The research was focused on the Amazon basin located in the provinces of Napo (Ecuador) and Tocache (Peru). A mixed qualitative and quantitative approach was used, considering not only the local scale but also the operation of the national and global cocoa commodity chain.

Findings: Even though the geographical environment in which cocoa is cultivated provides a similar set of stimuli, the starting point and history of cocoa farming in the two countries are dissimilar. The social features of the farmers, the agricultural management systems, the associated income levels and the environmental effects are all very different. In addition, local agents are strongly influenced by unequal starting imbalances in price negotiations and distinct degrees of access to liquid assets. All these factors have different effects not only on the cocoa quality production but also in the socio-environmental effects. While in the Ecuadorian Amazon, cocoa acts as a factor in territorial conservation and indigenous empowerment, in the Peruvian Amazon, cocoa acts in favour of settlement processes and the expansion of the agricultural frontier. 

Social implications: This research highlights the potential of cocoa not only as an economic driver, but also as an instrument for reshaping territorial and environmental relations. A clearer understanding of how global commodity chains interact with local socio-environmental dynamics is essential for promoting more equitable and sustainable development in the Amazon region.

Originality/value: This study examines a comparative study of two Latin-American countries Amazonian cocoa production systems, emphasizing socio-environmental features using a multiscale orientation focused on the interaction between the global, national and local scales.