Agriculture often generates large amounts of organic waste. Think of parts of crops that are not consumed, such as potato plant leaves, or cacao fruits after the cocoa beans have been removed. Only the beans are used to make chocolate, while the rest of the fruit, accounting for around 90% of its volume, is often left behind in the fields. Yet this organic “waste” can still be put to many valuable uses.

In recent years, Partners for Innovation has been involved in various studies and projects focused on agricultural residues and by-products, both in the Netherlands and in West Africa. For example, we assessed the climate impact of cocoa pods (empty cocoa husks). The impact turned out to be much higher than expected, equivalent to as much as one and a half times the annual emissions of Tata Steel.

This led to follow-up programmes aimed at reducing the climate impact of the cocoa and horticulture sectors in Ghana.