{
  "id": 18378123,
  "title": "Amazon mapping shows cacao expansion without deforestation in Brazil",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/05/amazon-mapping-shows-cacao-expansion-without-deforestation-in-brazil",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-11-05T21:28:38.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Mongabay",
    "slug": "mongabay",
    "url": "https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/amazon-mapping-shows-cacao-expansion-without-deforestation-in-brazil/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Record cocoa prices are prompting West African farmers to clear native forest, but a new study reveals that cacao is expanding in a different manner in the Brazilian Amazon. According to Embrapa, Brazil's state-run agricultural research agency, the area where cacao was cultivated in Pará, the country's leading producing state, increased by one-third from 2022 to 2024, reaching 116,436 hectares (287,700 acres). Most of the cacao is found on land that was already cleared long ago. Ninety-six percent of the cacao mapped in Pará and 98% in Rondônia state are located in areas deforested prior to 2020, adhering to the European Union's sustainability rules and bolstering Brazil's potential as a cocoa exporter. Interestingly, the study also uncovers a shift in how cacao is cultivated. While all cacao in Pará identified by Embrapa in 2022 grew in agroforestry systems, almost two-thirds of the new plantings are now full-sun monocultures. These monocultures yield more beans per tree, but they are more susceptible to pests and disease and make farmers reliant on a single crop. The cacao mapping in the Amazon traces back to the TerraClass program, a joint effort with Brazil's space agency INPE, which maps deforested land usage in the Brazilian Amazon. Led by Adriano Venturieri, a remote sensing specialist at Embrapa Amazônia Oriental in Belém, Pará, this research sheds light on the evolving cacao expansion in the Amazon region.",
  "summary": "While West Africa clears rainforest for chocolate, Brazilian farmers are reviving degraded pastures.",
  "key_points": [
    "Cacao cultivation in Pará, Brazil increased by one-third from 2022 to 2024.",
    "96% of cacao in Pará and 98% in Rondônia are on deforested land pre-2020.",
    "2/3 of new cacao plantings in Pará are full-sun monocultures."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}