Cargill receives award for supporting cocoa farmers as sustainable cocoa certification reaches 11,000 farmers

Cargill is a major originator and processor of cocoa beans and producer of high quality chocolate. The company is training thousands of farmers in better agricultural practices in Brazil, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Indonesia and Vietnam.

2 Dec 2010 --- Cargill’s work to improve livelihoods for cocoa farmers and their families in Africa, Asia and South America has earned it the U.S. Chamber Business Civic Leadership Center (BCLC) 2010 International Community Service award. The award coincides with 21 cooperatives in Côte d'Ivoire, with over 11,000 farmer members, achieving independent sustainable cocoa certification as a result of Cargill’s Farmer Field Schools programme.

The International Community Service award recognises an honoree for contributing to positive economic and social development in a country outside the United States. Stephen Jordan, U.S. Chamber BCLC’s Executive Director said: "Cargill's support for cocoa farmers is a classic example of how it does well by doing good. That's why we're proud to honour Cargill with the 2010 International Community Service Award."

All 21 farmer cooperatives have received certification under UTZ Certified sustainable cocoa programme after successfully completing 10 months of intensive training conducted through a network of 300 Cargill Farmer Field Schools in Côte d'Ivoire. The schools help small-scale farmers improve agricultural, environmental and social practices in cocoa production and to achieve UTZ Certification. The auditing is executed by independent certification bodies to ensure the highest level of credibility.

With demand from consumers for sustainable chocolate rising worldwide Cargill, a major originator of cocoa beans and producer of high quality chocolate co-founded the UTZ Certified cocoa programme along with Dutch development organisation Solidaridad and others in the sector to ensure that cocoa is grown sustainably.

As a result of training and certification, farmers are benefitting from an increase in their incomes from higher yields and improved crop quality. More than 10,000 tonnes of cocoa beans will be available by the end of this year to be used in sustainably certified, high quality chocolate and cocoa products. Cargill expects a total 60 cooperatives to be certified and the volume of cocoa beans to triple by the end of 2011 as training expands in Côte d’Ivoire and other cocoa producing countries in West Africa and Asia.

Already by the end of 2010, Cargill will have 25,000 farmers in various training programmes in Côte d’Ivoire and it is expanding to support tens of thousands more farmers over the coming years as part of a three-year $5-million commitment to support sustainable cocoa in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana.

Harold Poelma, managing director cocoa, Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate, commented: “As well as achieving certification, providing training and support enables farmers to increase yields, improve quality and through these – most importantly – increase their incomes by up to 30 per cent. We are extremely pleased to see that our efforts to raise incomes and living standards, as well as strengthen communities have been recognised by the U.S. Chamber.”

Farmers taking part in Cargill’s Farmer Field Schools are trained in good and safe practices that focus on farming techniques and post-harvest activities such as pruning, plantation renewal and cocoa fermentation methods and the correct application of pesticides and fertilisers.

Commenting on the training, Côte d’Ivoire cocoa farmer Thérèse N’Guessan said: “During the training we are taught to prune dry wood on cocoa trees, remove dry pods, and then to remove the black pods infected by fungus. Now I have done this I can see a major change in my field today, compared to how it was before.”