Côte d’Ivoire’s PROMIRE cocoa project enters final phase before May 2027
Côte d’Ivoire’s PROMIRE project has entered its final implementation phase after receiving an extension to May 2027 and the last two funding tranches. The program has restored more than 1,260 hectares of degraded land and converted over 3,527 hectares of cocoa farms into sustainable agroforestry systems.
Extension gives PROMIRE until May 2027
Côte d’Ivoire is moving its PROMIRE cocoa and forest restoration project into its final implementation phase after the program’s deadline was extended to May 2027. The steering committee held its first statutory meeting of 2026 on September 8 at Riviera 4 in Abidjan, bringing together government agencies, agricultural organizations, regional authorities, civil society and private-sector representatives.
According to AllAfrica, participants included the Ministry of Environment and Ecological Transition, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Sodefor, Anader, Afor and the Coffee and Cocoa Council. Representatives from La Mé, Agnéby-Tiassa and Sud-Comoé also attended, alongside the World Cocoa Foundation and Spib. These three regions are the project’s principal operating areas because cocoa expansion has contributed heavily to local deforestation.
More than 3,527 hectares converted
PROMIRE, whose name translates as Promoting Deforestation-Free Cocoa Production to Reduce Emissions in Côte d’Ivoire, is financed by the Green Climate Fund. Its measures combine agroforestry development, deforestation-free farming and sustainable management of natural resources, with the stated aim of maintaining the cocoa sector’s economic performance while protecting forest ecosystems.
Youssouf Diarra, chairman of the steering committee and chief of staff at the environment ministry, said consolidated project data showed that more than 1,260 hectares of degraded land had been restored. More than 3,527 hectares of degraded cocoa plots had also been formally converted into sustainable agroforestry systems, while the project was directly reaching over 5,700 small agricultural producers in the target regions.
The program forms part of Côte d’Ivoire’s involvement in the international REDD+ mechanism, which the country joined in June 2011. Côte d’Ivoire has set a goal of restoring forest cover to 20% of its territory by 2030. For the cocoa industry, the project links that national target to changes at farm level, where tree cover, land restoration and production practices determine whether cocoa can be presented as deforestation-free.
Final funding tranches released
The project roadmap was established in December 2025 in anticipation of an extension by the Green Climate Fund. PROMIRE had originally been scheduled to end on February 18, 2026. The extension to May 2027 has now been approved and accompanied by the disbursement of the final two financing tranches, giving implementing bodies additional time and funds to complete the outstanding work.
A joint delegation from the environment ministry, the Green Climate Fund and the FAO visited project sites in La Mé in April 2026. According to the FAO, the mission observed tangible results as well as support from producers and other beneficiaries. That participation will be important during the closing phase because maintaining agroforestry systems requires farmers and local institutions to continue managing restored land after project financing ends.
The final implementation period will therefore test whether results achieved in the three regions can be consolidated and used more widely across Côte d’Ivoire’s cocoa sector. The declared objective is to move zero-deforestation cocoa from a regional exception toward a national standard. For producers and cocoa buyers, the practical value will depend on preserving the restored areas, documenting farm-level conversion and turning the project’s methods into practices that can continue beyond May 2027.
