Гаврилова Нина Германовна

The article identifies economic and environmental contradictions of cocoa production in West Africa using the example of the main producing countries - Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana and Nigeria, which account for more than 70% of the world's cocoa beans. It was revealed that the extensive model contributed to regional dominance, which led to deforestation of these countries, soil degradation, loss of biodiversity and chronic poverty of producing farmers. The monoculture systems used for growing cocoa trees for a long time ensured the explosive growth of the industry, but created the threat of its collapse and led to increased climatic risks. The scientific novelty of the study is in complex identification of systemic conflict between the short-term economic strategies of West African countries (extensive path and monocultural cultivation) and long-term imperatives of environmental sustainability, which is considered through the prism of the duality of national agricultural policies and their inconsistency with the new international regulators (EUDR) for the first time. The necessity of transition to agroforestry practices and synchronization of national agrarian policy with international requirements is substantiated. The proposed measures can break the vicious circle of "poverty – intensification – ecological collapse".

The article is devoted to comprehensive analysis of the state of education in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) using the Human Development Index (HDI) and related socio-economic indicators. On the basis of the World Bank data, the author explores the key challenges, including low literacy rates, gender inequality, and the dilemma between accessibility and quality of education. Special attention is paid to the comparison of funding models. The countries with free primary and secondary education demonstrate higher literacy, but they face school congestion and decline of education quality. At the same time, the states with fully paid education remain in the group with the lowest HDI values that means the necessity of reforms. One of the aspects of the study is devoted to the analysis of gender gap in education. Literacy rate among women is inferior to that of men, and statistics show that in some countries, girls are limited even in getting primary education. The article highlights the causes of this imbalance, which are explained by cultural norms, early marriage and pregnancy, and lack of secure infrastructure. Based on the identified problems, the author recommends phased transition to free education with quality control in countries with paid education, and for countries with significant gender gaps, introduction of targeted support of girls through scholarships is suggested. Other recommendations relate to legal reforms, integration of HDI score into national development strategies, and strengthening international cooperation in the field of education. The article emphasizes that educational reforms can become the basis for sustainable economic growth and social stability in the region