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Global trends in sustainable cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) production: A bibliometric analysis (2019–2025)
Tendencias globales en la producción sostenible de cacao (Theobroma cacao L.): un análisis bibliométrico (2019–2025)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15446/rfnam.v78n3.119620Keywords:
Agroindustry, Circular economy, Fair-trade, Green practices (en)Agroindustria, Economía circular, Comercio justo, Prácticas verdes (es)
Currently, there is global concern about rising temperatures, which, together with the food risk, is causing climate change. In addition, cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) production is questioned because of its production method, which generates deforestation and high energy and water consumption in the process. These environmental problems cause a bad image in the sector, and uncertainty in the overall production of the cocoa industry, which has been striving to implement sustainable practices to mitigate the effects of climate change. However, solutions to this environmental issue have received little attention from the scientific community, and the need has arisen to investigate sustainable solutions for the cocoa industry. This study aims to conduct a bibliometric analysis to identify global sustainable trends that have been researched in the cocoa industry. For this purpose, a search strategy was designed and applied in the Scopus and Web of Science (WoS) databases, to collect information, filtering the results, in the categories of articles related to the agriculture and business groups in the 2019-2025 period, published in journals cataloged in quartiles one and two. Using the R programming language for information processing, 56 documents were found. Eleven sustainable practices were identified in the industry to improve social, economic, and environmental performance through waste valorization, soil improvement, reduction of water and energy consumption, and the adoption of green certifications. Finally, a framework is proposed for integrating the links in the supply chain with the practices for making them most sustainable.
En la actualidad, existe preocupación mundial por el aumento de las temperaturas que, junto con el riesgo alimentario, provoca el cambio climático. Además, la producción de cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) se cuestiona por su método de producción, que genera deforestación y un elevado consumo de energía y agua en el proceso. Estos problemas medioambientales causan mala imagen en el sector e incertidumbre en la producción global de la industria del cacao, que se ha esforzado por aplicar prácticas sostenibles para mitigar los efectos del cambio climático. Sin embargo, las soluciones a este problema ambiental han recibido poca atención por parte de la comunidad científica y ha surgido la necesidad de investigar soluciones sostenibles para la industria. Este estudio tiene como objetivo realizar un análisis bibliométrico para identificar tendencias globales sostenibles que se han investigado en la industria del cacao. Para ello, se diseñó una estrategia de búsqueda aplicada en las bases de datos Scopus y Web of Science (WoS), con el propósito de recopilar información, filtrando los resultados, en las categorías de artículos relacionados con los grupos de agricultura y negocios en el periodo 2019-2025 publicados en revistas catalogadas en los cuartiles uno y dos. Utilizando el lenguaje de programación R para el tratamiento de la información, hallando 56 documentos. Se identificaron 11 prácticas sostenibles en la industria, con el objetivo de mejorar el rendimiento social, económico y medioambiental, mediante la valorización de los residuos, la mejora del suelo, la reducción del consumo de agua y energía y la adopción de certificaciones verdes. Por último, se propone un marco para integrar los eslabones de la cadena de suministro con las prácticas para hacerla sostenible.
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