23 Apr 2018
Keeping a focus on farmers and incomes as the cocoa industry meets in Berlin this week
Image © Kate Fishpool / Fairtrade Foundation
Last week, the cocoa advocacy organization VOICE Network published their Cocoa Barometer report, looking at progress in the industry towards sustainability, and specifically a living income for cocoa farmers.
According to this report, the sharp decline in cocoa price that was seen in 2016 to 2017 will erase sustainability gains from the past 10 years. Already struggling cocoa farmers have seen their incomes from cocoa decline 30 to 40 percent, bearing the highest risk of any actors in the value chain when prices drop.
The report calls for the cocoa sector to redouble efforts towards a living income for cocoa farmers. Citing research such as Fairtrade’s recent study in Côte d’Ivoire, the report points to the need to reconsider price as part of a holistic solution to reach a living income. The price being paid to farmers is key, but has to be considered in the context of the whole value chain, from farmer through to supermarket shelf. Other factors include sustainable yields (tied to farmers’ net incomes, not simply volume per hectare, and aimed at decreasing the overall area of land under cocoa production), crop diversification, and government policies and investment in infrastructure.
Fairtrade welcomes the Cocoa Barometer and its focus on achieving a living income for farmers, while respecting human rights and environmental protection. While the industry has invested in increasing farmers’ productivity to address sustainability, the past several years have shown that this is not sufficient – farmers cannot simply produce their way out of poverty in a context of falling or stagnant prices.
These are concerns Fairtrade is working to address. In addition to reviewing the Fairtrade Minimum Price and Premium for cocoa this year, we have developed a Fairtrade Living Income Strategy and are actively working towards solutions in collaboration with actors across the sector, from farmers to manufacturers, from NGOs to governments. We agree with the sentiment expressed in the report that the sector cannot continue with “business as usual” – we need renewed urgency to tackle these problems in a meaningful way.
To help keep farmers and incomes in the spotlight, Fairtrade is at the World Cocoa Conference in Berlin this week. More than 1,500 representatives from across the cocoa value chain are gathering to discuss key issues.
Fairtrade International CEO Darío Soto Abril will be speaking on Tuesday 24 April on a panel entitled ‘Is the ethical cocoa trade a myth or reality?’ along with representatives from chocolate brands Ritter Sport and Choba Choba.
On the same day, Senior Advisor for Sustainable Livelihoods Carla Veldhuyzen van Zanten will discuss farm gate cocoa price and how to improve it. She will emphasize the gap between current incomes and a living income, possible solutions, and the need for concrete commitments to move the sector towards a fair price for sustainable cocoa.