OUR COCOA
Traceable cocoa
The vast majority of the world’s cocoa is produced by smallholder farmers, most of whom live in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana where we mainly source our cocoa. These two countries together account for more than 60% of the world’s cocoa production.
CERTIFICATIONS
Rainforest Alliance Certified
Cocoa farmers face several economic and social issues, and this is why Ferrero made a commitment in 2011 to responsibly source 100% certified cocoa beans by 2020 to help improve their living conditions and foster sustainable practices. By sourcing cocoa from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms we help improve the livelihoods of farmers and their families and conserve natural resources and biodiversity (discover more: www.ra.org).
Certified farms have to follow strict criteria to help ensure environmental, social and economic sustainability. Certification and traceability are the starting point of Ferrero's sustainability approach, but we also go beyond certification to increase our impact on the ground.
OUR COMMITMENT
Ferrero is fully committed to ensuring our cocoa does not come from protected areas and does not contribute to deforestation.
As one of the founding members of the Cocoa & Forests Initiative (CFI), we are committed to working collaboratively with other leading global cocoa and chocolate companies and the governments of Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana to end deforestation and forest degradation across the global cocoa supply chain.
At Ferrero, our ambition is to have a cocoa industry that is better for both people, and the planet. We are therefore dedicated to the responsible sourcing of cocoa and as part of this, we have created our own Cocoa Charter. This Charter outlines our long-term commitments and our Action Plan and sets out how we will work towards achieving these commitments.
SUPPORTING FARMERS
Supporting farmers
Through the implementation of the Ferrero Farming Values Cocoa Programme, we implement initiatives that are intended to support farmers and their communities in adopting agricultural practices aimed at increasing cocoa productivity and income diversification. We also implement individual Farm Development Plans designed to address specific farm conditions.
Knowledge is empowerment
And we strongly believe in it. That’s why at our Farmer Field Schools, we provide trainings to farmers in good agricultural, social and environmental practices. We support farmers in applying this knowledge by facilitating access to seedlings, fertilisers as well as connecting them to financial support mechanism. We have already trained 199 000 farmers and distributed over 912,000 cocoa seedlings.
FARMERS' VOICES
Before, I produced around 450 kilograms of cocoa per year. After applying new farming practices and improving the upkeep of my field, my harvest increased, leading to higher income this year which gives me over 300,000 CFA francs more says Momboye Célestin, one of many cocoa farmer who has participated in farmer training programmes organized by Ferrero’s partner ECOOKIM.
Momboye Célestin
one of many cocoa farmers who have participated in farmer trainings organized by Ferrero’s partner ECOOKIM.
ECOOKIM is a union representing over 37,000 cocoa farmers in Côte d’Ivoire. In 2021-22, we sourced cocoa beans from 10 of its cooperatives and over 15,000 farmers were trained in our Farmer Field Schools. Thanks to these efforts, these farmers have seen a significant increase in cocoa yields and income.
PROTECTING CHILDREN'S RIGHTS
For the children in our cocoa supply-chain this means taking action to tackle child labour and improve access to education and basic needs such as water, sanitation and good nutrition. We are sensitizing farmers on the rights of children and we are implementing systems designed to identify and remediate cases of child labour, also called CLMRS (Child Labour Monitoring and Remediation System). Remediation can vary from individualized support to children and parents to broader child-centered community development programs that aim to implement mechanisms to protect children, strengthen the educational infrastructure and promote women empowerment.
We also actively support initiatives that have a broader scope than our direct supply-chain. For example, since 2008 we are members of the International Cocoa Initiative, a multi-stakeholder platform that aims to ensure a better future for children and to advance the elimination of child labour.
AGROFORESTRY
Our ever-growing support to agroforestry
We encourage cocoa farmers to diversify their farms by mixing cocoa trees with fruits, vegetables and timber trees to provide shade for young cocoa trees, food for household consumption or to sell on the local market. Such systems contribute to environmental protection and biodiversity.
196,000
Hectares of cocoa agroforestry developed
8.4 million
Non-cocoa trees to support agroforestry
2018 - 2024
Intervention Period
Côte d'Ivoire & Ghana
Countries Involved
Did you know
Agroforesty is a dynamic and ecological resource management system that, through the integration of trees on farms, diversifies and sustains production which may contribute to social, economic and environmental benefits. Agroforestry is important for smallholder farmers because it can help support them to improve their food supply, income and health.
