In West Africa, where over 80% of original forests have been lost to agriculture, finding alternative timber sources is critical for regional needs and sustainability. The widespread development of agroforestry could be a promising source of timber wood, but the production potential of trees in agricultural fields cannot be directly transferred from natural forests or dedicated plantations due to different biophysical environments. Our study assesses the timber production potential of trees in 150 cocoa agroforestry systems (AFS) in Côte d'Ivoire. To achieve this, we: (i) modelled the diameter growth of forest tree species with timber potential in cocoa AFS; (ii) developed specific allometric models for trees in cocoa AFS to estimate their volume at minimum logging diameter (MLD); and (iii) evaluated the effect of tree origin (natural regeneration vs. plantation) on growth trajectories, allometry, and bole volumes. Our results show that trees can reach a 50 cm diameter (the smallest MLD) as early as 14 years old, and a bole height of up to 8.83 m at this diameter. Spontaneous trees grow 10% faster annually than (trans)planted trees, reaching their MLD up to 10 years earlier. For a given bole height, spontaneous trees have a 43% greater volume compared to (trans)planted trees, with a bole volume up to 0.71 m³ higher. These findings highlight that natural regeneration is a more efficient and effective strategy than plantation for renewing trees in cocoa AFS. Natural regeneration results in higher growth rates and greater timber volumes compared to planting. Therefore, natural regeneration shows great potential for (i) sustainable forestry management in agroforestry systems and (ii) significantly contributing to meeting regional timber demands.