Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana hail progress in making cocoa buyers pay premium to farmers
Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, the world’s two largest cocoa producers, as well as the Ivorian-Ghanian Cocoa Initiative (CIGCI), created to guarantee a minimum income to farmers, have noted “efforts” by some manufacturers to pay higher prices to producers, after giving them an ultimatum earlier this month.
For several weeks, both countries reproached the chocolate manufacturers for not paying the decent income differential (DRD), a premium of 400 dollars per ton, introduced in 2019 to ensure a decent income for farmers. They had given the industry until 20 November to meet their commitments, threatening to “ban access to plantations to make crop forecasts” and “suspend sustainability programs.” Now, in a joint statement, the national cocoa management bodies of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana said they “noted the efforts made by some companies and their willingness to find solutions together for a sustainable production of cocoa that places producers at the heart of this strategy.” They “encourage all manufacturers to take action and show that they sincerely believe in sustainable cocoa production“.
These programs, aimed at fighting deforestation and child labor, allow manufacturers to claim that their chocolate is sustainably produced, a criterion often favored by consumers. But Monday, the producer countries announced to continue discussions and the establishment of “a working group of experts” who will provide “recommendations by the end of the first quarter of 2023 to find sustainable solutions. Côte d’Ivoire’s cocoa, which accounts for 45% of global production, contributes 14% of the country’s GDP and feeds 24% of the population of this country of about 27 million people.
Côte d’Ivoire is also considered a major regional destination for child trafficking from neighboring countries to work on its crops. Many farm families still face persistent poverty on less than a dollar a day, a situation that is one of the factors contributing to child labor on cocoa farms.
