Investing in communities to secure the future of cocoa

Inspiring young people to take up cocoa farming is vital for all chocolate lovers because without cocoa, there is no chocolate. And without the next generation of cocoa farmers, there will be no cocoa.

However, discussions about young people and cocoa farming often centers around the ongoing issue of child labour on cocoa farms.

This is not surprising given the continued reports of child labour in West African cocoa-growing regions, such as the recent Tulane Survey.

According to the survey, an estimated 2,26??? million children are working in cocoa production in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire in the 2013/2014 production season. In addition to the hazardous conditions involved in labour such as using machetes and carrying heavy loads, these children are also unable to attend school.

Chocolate company, Mondelēz International, has been working with its partners for many years to find a solution to this and other human rights abuses in the cocoa supply chain . In 2012, the Cocoa Life programme was launched, a $400 million investment to empower 200,000 farmers and reach over 1 million people in cocoa-growing communities. Mondelēz is also the largest buyer of Fairtrade Certified cocoa.

Encouraging the next generation of cocoa farmers

The consequence of decades of uncertain or low prices in the cocoa industry is that many farmers have neither the incentive nor resources to invest in replanting ageing trees or purchasing expensive inputs necessary to produce a high quality crop. Younger generations see no future in cocoa, and are therefore switching to more profitable enterprises such as rubber production or heading for the cities in the hope of finding a more dependable livelihood.

Despite these challenges, however, Mondelēz and Fairtrade believe young people can be inspired to pursue a future in cocoa farming and that the key to tackling these issues is a ground up approach, where producer organisations and communities, and the youth in particular, lead the development of goals and strategies. Fairtrade is not just about better prices for products, it is about building a fairer and more sustainable future, working together to protect and enable the next generation.

“It's clear we need to step up our game,” says Anita Sheth, Senior Advisor on Social Compliance and Development at Fairtrade Labelling International (FLO). “If we're to turn the tide on education so that it is a viable alternative to the labour of children in rural developing communities, we -- ethical certifiers, governments, companies and non-profit organisations alike -- must challenge ourselves to find faster, more integrated and better ways to address the root causes of child labour while ensuring that the schools children attend are safe.

One such root cause is the equipping of children and young people in cocoa communities. In Ghana, Cocoa Life works with student ambassadors who volunteer their holidays over a two-year period to work in Cocoa Life communities. With support from the Ghana Education Service, they organise events such as fora for reading club patrons to equip them with knowledge and skills about child rights and development issues.

Mondelēz also recognises the importance of broader community interventions to ensure education. In several pilot Cocoa Life communities in Cote d’Ivoire, implementing partner CARE International, has supported schoolchildren in getting birth certificates. The lack of birth certificates is a widespread problem in Côte d’Ivoire which often hinders children’s access to education.

Empowering women in  the cocoa supply chain
Beyond their work in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire, Cocoa Life works with Save the Children in Indonesia to promote gender equality through leadership and business training for women in cocoa farming communities, as well as agricultural education for the youth. Together, farming families create Community Action Plans to achieve specific development outcomes such as improving health and nutrition education.

In addition to addressing challenges related to education and gender equity, the success of holistic programmes such as Cocoa Life seeks to improve the entire socioeconomic ecosystem for cocoa farmers and their communities.

The Cocoa Life programme has seen CARE’s Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) model successfully bring communities together, while enabling the development of a savings culture, increased literacy levels, and improved management skills.

Members of VSLAs use the funds for a broad range of investments including: start-up capital for new businesses, expansion of existing businesses, starting new cocoa farms or rehabilitating old cocoa farms, hiring labourers, or using the social fund to help with emergencies such as illness, hospitalisations, or a death in the family.

Most importantly, it is a key driver to empowering women economically. These women are not only achieving improved productivity on their farms but a better quality of life for their families. About 70 per cent of participants in these VSLAs are women and many use income from their businesses to send their children to school.

Taken together, these initiatives aim to inspire the next generation of cocoa farmers which will be good news for the next generation of chocolate lovers. — The Guardian, UK/ GB