What we do/In action/Panama

Turning around a failing cacao farm in Panama

After El Niño wiped out nearly all its young cacao, we took over operations and rebuilt the farm around nature-based solutions.

  • ServiceRegenerative transition and farm operation
  • ScopeCacao, plantain and native forestry
  • Timeline3 years

The outcome

  1. 01

    Losses reversed

    Plant mortality fell from around 95% in the El Niño year to around 5% after the redesign.

  2. 02

    A farm that regulates itself

    Greater plant and insect diversity turned farm-wide pest outbreaks into isolated hotspots.

  3. 03

    Fewer chemicals

    Native vegetation, plantain shade and mulch took over much of the work of herbicides and fertiliser.

  4. 04

    A premium buyer

    A leading Panamanian supermarket chain visited the farm and became a key buyer because of how it was farmed.

The challenge

A conventional approach meets climate reality

A new cacao farm in Panama was managed conventionally by a third-party operator, with heavy herbicide use and no plan for climate risk. When El Niño hit in the first year, nearly all the young cacao died.

The owner did not need another plan on paper. It needed someone to take over the farm and turn it around.

  • Against conventionThe regenerative design that replaced the conventional one is still not widely accepted in commercial agriculture.
  • Recovery and regeneration togetherProduction had to recover while soil health and ecological balance were rebuilt.
  • Commercial scale in the tropicsNature-based solutions had to prove themselves on a commercial farm in a tropical climate.

What made the difference

Resilience and reducing costs.

  • Resilience as the design principle

    The conventional approach chased yield. We started from what the crop needs and met it through nature-based solutions. Yields followed.

  • Resilient solutions at commercial scale

    Native vegetation, leguminous cover and shade are usually seen as smallholder techniques. We made them work alongside full irrigation and mechanisation.

  • Revenue

    Regenerative design also reduced input costs and attracted premium buyers.

Why it matters

  • Climate volatility is increasing. Farms designed without resilience will keep losing crops and capital.
  • The EUDR and buyer pressure are pushing cacao producers toward verifiable, sustainable practices.
  • Most consultants recommend regenerative transitions on paper. We have delivered one on a commercial farm.

Is your farm resilient to climate shocks?

Get in touch