You would think: more demand for cocoa means more sales and thus higher income for cocoa farmers. But as long as the price they receive for their cocoa does not keep up with the cost of living and production, cocoa farmers’ poverty effectively remains unchanged.
The latest report shows that farmer poverty is a driving force behind issues such as deforestation and child labour. The report also states that without a significant increase in income for farmers, environmental and social damage will continue to increase in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, the world’s largest cocoa producing countries, in the coming years.
The Barometer concludes that action is needed simultaneously on three levels to achieve a living income for cocoa farmers: good policies by governments, good sourcing methods by companies and good farming practices by farmers. It is now up to companies and governments to act!
HAGENS brought the report to the Dutch media’s attention and several titles published about it such as Eatly, EVMI and VMT. In addition, Trouw wrote an article on the new anti-deforestation law and Hester Verburg of Solidaridad spoke on air at RTL Z.
