This project will discuss creating sustainable farming systems that combine cocoa production with environmental protection in Belize. Scientists from the US and Belize will share ideas for helping farmers fight climate change while making a living.
In 2023, Penn State scientists launched three research projects in Belize in collaboration with the Belizean Foundation for Research and Environmental Education. Focused on sustainable agroforestry systems with an emphasis on cacao production, these projects address social, environmental, and biodiversity factors. The overarching aim is to develop resilient and ecologically beneficial farming systems that can combat climate change, offering both ecosystem services and economic opportunities for local farmers. International collaborators and experts will participate in the project, and a summary report will document the outcomes.
Project Type:
Level 1 – 2024 Workshop
Project Lead:
Mark Guiltinan | see all participants
Themes:
Nature-based Strategies
“After visiting the rainforest in Belize, home to wild populations of cacao, we were inspired to ask a simple question: Can Chocolate save the Rainforest? Can humans live near conservation areas and farm cacao in ways that enhances the local biodiversity? Long-term, we aim at nothing less than to help save the rainforest and its associated biodiversity.”
Mark Guiltinan, J. Franklin Styer Professor of Horticultural Botany
and Professor of Plant Molecular Biology, Penn State
Penn State Cacao and Chocolate Research Network host Agroforest Workshop
June 7, 2024
The Penn State Cacao and Chocolate Research Network recently successfully conducted an intersectional collaborative workshop focused on sustainable agroforestry systems with an emphasis on cacao and coffee production.
Collaborators
This workshop includes participants from the Smithsonian Institution, the University of Florida, the University of Tennessee, the Belize Foundation for Research & Environmental Education (BFREE), and the Tropical Agricultural Center for Research and Training (CATIE).
- Savannah Anez
Ph.D. Candidate, Penn State
- Heather Barrett
Deputy Director, Belize Foundation for Research & Environmental Education
- Gui Becker
Associate Professor of Biology, Penn State
- Holly Brabazon
Ms., University of Tennessee
- Eric Burkhart
Associate Teaching Professor, Ecosystem Science and Management, Penn State
- Tomas Carlo
Professor of Biology, Penn State
- Rolando Cerda
Ph.D. in Agronomic and Ecological Sciences, Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE)
- Christine Costello
Assistant Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Penn State
- Mark Guiltinan
J. Franklin Styer Professor of Horticultural Botany
and Professor of Plant Molecular Biology, Penn State
- Jill Hamilton
Associate Professor & Director, Schatz Center for Tree Molecular Genetics, Penn State
- Helene Hopfer
Associate Professor of Food Science, Penn State
- Ezra Houston
Graduate Assistant, Penn State
- Mauricio Jimenez
Global Safety Director, Penn State
- Armen Kemanian
Professor of Production Systems and Modeling, Penn State
- Sabine Klahr
Interim Vice Provost for Penn State Global
- Evelyn Kulesza
Graduate Student, Penn State
- Joshua Lambert
Professor of Food Science, Penn State
- Kirk Lawson
Ph.D. candidate, Penn State
- Laura Leites
Assistant Dean of Multicultural Affairs, Research Professor of Quantitative Forest Ecology, Penn State
- Jennifer Macalady
Professor of Geosciences and Director of the Ecology Institute, Penn State
- Erika Machtinger
Associate Professor of Entomology, Penn State
- Jacob Marlin
Executive Director, BFREE
- Siela Maximova
Research Professor of Plant Biotechnology, Penn State
- Melissa Mazurkewicz
Smithsonian Bird Friendly Program Manager – Latin America, Smithsonian
- Melanie Miller Foster
Associate Teaching Professor of International Agriculture, Penn State
- Brisa Oliveira de Avila
Research Assistant, Penn State
- Elizabeth Ransom
Associate Professor of International Affairs, Penn State
- Jose Reyes
Dr., University of Florida
- Lizzie Schousek
Plant Biology Ph.D. Student, Penn State
- Christopher Scott
Goddard Chair and Professor of Ecosystem Science & Management, Penn State
- DeWayne Shoemaker
Professor and Department Head, University of Tennessee
- Lina Tami-Barrera
Ph.D. Candidate, Penn State
- John Tooker
Professor of Entomology, Penn State