Medicinal trees such as Alstoonia boonia , used for suppressing malarial fevers, are also planted. Timber from many of these trees is used for local construction. Most of the indigenous and exotic tree species grown in the agroforests are genetically unimproved. However, some species are difficult to propagate and research is needed to identify selection and cultivation techniques to make this sustainable cocoa system more attractive to farmers. With care taken to avoid degradation of the soil, animals, such as small ruminants, can provide additional benefits to the cocoa agroforests.
Farmers are able to establish cocoa agroforests with little input required from research institutes.
However, further research can help farmers optimize the production of these systems so that they are ensured of a stable income from the diverse products available within the system, whatever the price of cocoa. Central America In Costa Rica and Panama, leguminous or timber trees have been introduced into existing cocoa plantations as a cheap alternative to replace undesirable existing shade canopies. As in West Africa, these diversified systems have been shown to be more productive than cocoa monocrops and financially more viable. A short rotation to produce commercial timber trees has also facilitated the incorporation of small-medium farms in reforestation programmes. Financial performance of most systems has been satisfactory especially when labour is cheap.