Motivation While organic agriculture is seen as the best way to achieve sustainable agriculture, the question of how actors in the sector can help remains unresolved. This article seeks to contribute to the global determination to resolve environmental challenges through sustainable agricultural practices grounded in multilevel governance.

Purpose The article examines existing regulations governing the production and importation of organic cocoa.

Methods and approach Multilevel governance is used as a theoretical and methodological tool to examine the discursive and material struggles which challenge the promotion of organic cocoa, using a content analysis of European Union (EU) regulations governing the production and importation of organic agricultural produce, including cocoa.

Findings The article finds that the EU regulations on the production and importation of organic cocoa takes a vertical approach to multilevel governance. Organic cocoa farmers, who come lower down in the governance hierarchy, have no role in policymaking and have simply to follow these regulations.

Policy implications The regulations seem to ignore the inputs of actors at the lower level in the hierarchy. The absence of organic producers’ (farmers’) participation in the governance architecture may inhibit conventional farmers from venturing into organic cocoa production.