5 November 2008 - To celebrate 10 years of cocoa operations in Côte d'Ivoire, Cargill has announced that it will partner with ANADER, the national agency for rural development, on a series of projects.
The partnership is funding and developing 95 cocoa farmer field schools and provides support to 11 cocoa cooperatives in the country. Cargill has been involved in farmer training initiatives since 2003 and with this partnership now trains some 17,000 farmers in Côte d’Ivoire.
“High quality cocoa, grown in a sustainable way, is essential to the economies and livelihoods of farming communities in Côte d’Ivoire, as well as to Cargill, our customers and consumers,” said Greg Page, Cargill chairman and chief executive officer, during a visit to West Africa to celebrate Cargill’s anniversary in Côte d’Ivoire and preside over the opening of a new cocoa processing plant in Ghana. Page was accompanied by David MacLennan, Cargill’s chief financial officer and Leo Winters, head of Cargill’s cocoa operations in West Africa, on a visit to a farmer field school in the San Pedro area of Côte d’Ivoire to see how they operate and meet representatives from ANADER and local authorities.
The partnership with ANADER will provide training for cooperative managers, local farmers and demonstrate best practice in cocoa farming that can lead to higher yields, better quality cocoa and increased incomes.
“In 10 years of operating here, we have seen a significant increase in global demand for high quality cocoa products”, said Leo Winters. “It is because of this demand that we opened our processing plant in Abidjan – that uses the latest technology to produce a wide range of ready-made cocoa products for food and beverage customers worldwide – as well as our two export terminals and three upcountry buying stations. We are working with ANADER and other partners to promote sustainable cocoa farming, improve farmers’ livelihoods and in the process deliver significant benefits to rural communities.”
Cargill participates in a number of projects aimed at supporting and promoting the national cocoa industry. The company is a founding member of the UTZ CERTIFIED sustainability programme that aims to independently certify the sustainability of cocoa farming in the country and work with farmer groups to implement agricultural, social and environmental best practice. Cargill also has a partnership with the European Institute for Cooperation and Development to provide educational opportunities.
Cargill purchases 50 percent of its cocoa beans from co-operatives in Côte d’Ivoire and provides business management and financial advice to them in the Soubré region of the country.
Côte d’Ivoire is the world’s largest producer of cocoa and the crop represents the main source of income for thousands of Ivorians. Cargill now employs 500 people directly and a further 2,000 indirectly, and the company’s plant in Abidjan processes 120,000 metric tonnes of cocoa beans annually into high quality cocoa products including liquor, butter and powder. The products from this plant are shipped worldwide and incorporated by the world’s food industry into finished products without any further reprocessing at destination.