07.12.2021
New multi-media report: In search of sustainable cocoa
Côte d’Ivoire is the world’s biggest producer of cocoa. To secure a fair wage for cocoa farmers, numerous organisations have joined forces to promote greater sustainability.
Chocolate figures, pralines and chocolate-coated biscuits are not only a supermarket attraction during the Christmas period. After all, every German consumes around 9.2 kilogrammes of chocolate a year.
Approximately 60 per cent of the annual supply of raw cocoa imported to Germany comes from Côte d’Ivoire, where it is essentially grown exclusively by smallholders. Often their earnings are not sufficient to ensure a fair standard of living. A seven-person household has an average monthly income of EUR 172 – a living income would need to be some EUR 478.
Chocolate consumption therefore raises some questions:
Shaping the future of cocoa together
On behalf of the German Development Ministry (BMZ) and the Sustainable Cocoa Forum, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is promoting sustainable and fair cocoa together with its local partners in Côte d’Ivoire in an effort to raise cocoa farmers’ standard of living. GIZ is helping cocoa cooperatives to become more professional, sustainable and efficient. Members are trained in business management practices and learn how to increase their yields through better cocoa tree care and maintenance. At the same time, they also learn about alternative, environmentally friendly cultivation methods, such as agroforestry.
When designing measures, GIZ is guided by the needs of the people in Côte d’Ivoire. Where do they see challenges? What do they consider to be the best way of resolving them?
Click here for the multi-media story
New multi-media report: In search of sustainable cocoa
These and other questions are answered in GIZ’s new multi-media report which takes us right to the start of the supply chain: directly into the heart of Ivorian cocoa farming. This report gives a voice to people who want to improve things here and now for cocoa farmers and those affected by the cocoa supply chain. This includes the head of a cocoa cooperative, the founder of an Ivorian chocolate start-up and a representative of the German chocolate industry – all of whom are all united by single objective: making cocoa a fairer and more sustainable product.