Increasing global cocoa demand in the new millennium has triggered farmers in developing countries to expandcocoa cultivation. A challenge is how to sustainably increase cocoa production without causing deforestation.We examine this trade-off around the Lore Lindu National Park in Indonesia and investigate the determinants ofenvironmental efficiency by applying a distance output function that includes cocoa production and rainforestplant abundance. We analyze 208 cocoa producers' variables from 2015 using both measured and self-reporteddata. We find that cocoa intensification results in higher ecosystem degradation, and that producers in oursample display a 50% mean efficiency. This low value points to the increased infestation of cocoa pod borer andthe failure of the Gernas government program. Increasing efficiency could lead to a win-win-win situation:higher cocoa production from fewer hectares, and with more native rainforest plants co-existing with cocoa onthose hectares. On average, efficiency scores suggest that there is scope to expand production by 367 kg of cocoaper farm and year on the existing planted area, to increase rainforest plants per 5 ∗ 5 m area by 109 whilemaintaining existing areas and production levels, or to reduce acreage by 0.52 ha per farm without reducingproduction.