Intercropping, what is it?

We have updated our origin pages to include details on intercropping but what does it mean?

Intercropping is where the farmer mixes the trees and plants so that more than one crop is grown on the same piece of land.

Some of the reasons for doing this are:

• Alternative sources of income.

• To protect smaller crops from the sun.

• To protect plants from the wind.

• To reduce insect damage and disease.

• To improve soil conditioning.

• Reduce water evaporation.

Common plants and trees for intercropping with cacao are hardwood trees for timber, plantains, banana and citrus trees for food sources.