Knowledge is lacking on the effects of associated crops on cocoa productivity in complex cocoa-based agroforestry systems. Through a generalized linear mixed model, we analyzed the influence of (i) the density and (ii) the height of associated species on cocoa tree productivity along a distance gradient of 0 to 5 m between cocoa trees and associated plants. We mapped 34 mature agroforestry systems in farmers’ plots to locate the position of different crop species in relation to each other. The production of each plant was monitored at fortnightly intervals over one year. The main results showed that cocoa tree productivity increased in the presence of Fabaceae, even when at a short distance (< 3 m), and to a lesser extent in the presence of timber trees. All the other species, i.e., food-producing trees, had a negative effect on cocoa productivity, which diminished with increasing distance up to a distance ranging from 3 to 5 m depending on the species. The height of associated plants also had a significantly negative effect on cocoa productivity at a distance of less than 3 m, beyond which the negative effect decreased. To our knowledge, it is the first study that finely analyzes the effect of associated crops on cocoa productivity according to farmers’ use and for short distances. These results are of particular interest for the structural redesign of agroforestry systems, in order to optimize their agro-economic performance, and can be used to recommend the distance to be respected between cocoa trees and associated plants as well as the height of the different crops or forest trees.

在以可可为基础的复杂农林业系统中，相关作物对可可生产力的影响缺乏相关知识。通过广义线性混合模型，我们分析了 (i) 密度和 (ii) 关联物种高度对可可树和关联植物之间 0 至 5 m 距离梯度上可可树生产力的影响。我们在农民的地块中绘制了 34 个成熟的农林业系统，以定位不同作物物种之间的位置。每个工厂的生产在一年内每两周监测一次。主要结果表明在豆科植物存在下可可树生产力增加，即使在很短的距离 (< 3 m) 处，并且在有木材树木的情况下程度较小。所有其他物种，即生产粮食的树木，对可可生产力有负面影响，随着距离的增加而减少，具体取决于物种，距离范围从 3 到 5 m。关联植物的高度也对距离小于 3 m 的可可生产力有显着的负面影响，超过此负面影响就会减弱。据我们所知，这是第一项根据农民的使用和短距离精细分析相关作物对可可生产力影响的研究。这些结果对于农林业系统的结构重新设计特别有意义，以优化其农业经济绩效，