This study applies the Bias-Adjusted Three-Step approach with covariate and distal outcomes for identify the livelihood strategies pursued by small cacao farmers in the Guayas coastal region in Ecuador, where two distinct cacao varieties are grown: the fine flavor variety, cacao Nacional (CN) and a hybrid variety (CCN-51). A detailed household survey sampled 188 households. Four latent profiles of livelihood strategies were identified based on activity variables; these were related to capital assets used as covariate and income share variables used as distal outcomes. Results show that far from existing a neat gap between cultivation of CN and CCN-51, 60% of the sampled households simultaneously grows both varieties. Results indicate that the variable share of land allocated to CN does not significantly contribute to discriminate among profiles. Households with a low share of land allocated to CCN-51 show higher income diversification strategies and vice versa. Income diversification encouragement and improvement in livelihood basic services and production assets to improve economic security of smallholders seem to be the pathway to increase the success of the current policy for fine flavor cocoa rehabilitation at the national level. Acknowledgement : We want to acknowledge the funding received by the Universidad Estatal de Milagro (Ecuador) to conduct this study.