Côte d'Ivoire, the world's top cocoa producer, is experiencing devastating deforestation driven by its principal economic activity, cocoa farming. Farmers typically rely on the natural soil fertility of virgin forests for high cocoa yields, leading to forests being cleared for cocoa cultivation. After five to ten years, when soil fertility dwindles, farmers move to the next fresh two to three acres of virgin forest to plant a new crop. This practice has led to a fourfold increase in deforestation in Saamaka lands and the growth of towns and villages in protected forest areas. To diversify and increase their income, some farmers make profitable deals with logging companies and illegal timber traders to remove trees to make way for cocoa crops. This practice has proved more lucrative for farmers than cocoa bean production, making illegal logging arguably one of the country's most prevalent and lucrative forms of organised crime.