Mars Wrigley joins 12Tree and ECOM in venture to “catalyze shift toward modern cocoa farming”

01 Oct 2021 --- Mars Wrigley has formed a new initiative coined Andean Cacao, with 12Tree, a transformative asset manager and operator in the area of agroforestry, and ECOM, one of the world’s largest suppliers of sustainable cocoa beans.

Andean Cacao is a climate-smart venture lookingto catalyze sustainable farming by changing how cocoa is grown and pioneering modern agriculture practices that regenerate soil and positively impact communities.

Mars Wrigley’s long-term agreement will help provide financial stability and the development of Andean Cacao to scale to prove its transformative agricultural model. 

Carbon-neutral cocoa beans
It will initially focus on regenerating over 2,000 hectares of cattle grazing land in Latin America into a highly productive, sustainable farm to deliver quality carbon-neutral cocoa beans. The project seeks to improve carbon sequestration, soil health, and biodiversity, create living-wage job opportunities, and support neighboring communities.

This venture is the latest step in Mars Wrigley’s objective journey through its Cocoa for Generations strategy to build a modern, inclusive, and sustainable cocoa supply chain. 

It also shows a continued commitment to trial new climate-smart and modern agriculture solutions by focusing on three areas of impact:

• Creating healthy soil while capturing carbon and boosting biodiversity

Andean Cacao has proven that degraded cattle pasture land can be restored to healthy, vibrant soil by using a multi-species, technology-driven agroforestry cocoa model. This is how Andean Cacao plans to impact climate change significantly and strive to produce carbon-neutral cocoa beans.

• Improving livelihoods and community resilience: 

The farm has already created more than 225 job opportunities, with at least 20% filled by women. A US$1.5 million project with the International Finance Corporation supports Andean Cacao to build modern sustainable farming capabilities and community resilience for neighboring smallholders.

• Exchanging scientific knowledge and cocoa agronomy innovation to increase productivity: 

The venture combines 12Tree’s track record of transforming land through regenerative farming practices with Mars Wrigley’s 30 years of research and innovation in cocoa plant science and agronomy and ECOM’s long history of managing agricultural commodities in Latin America. 

Andean Cacao is a climate-smart venture that seeks to catalyze sustainable farming.Building resilient supply chains 
Reshaping the future of cocoa means building a resilient supply chain that protects the planet, improves working conditions, and enables communities to thrive, says Amber Johnson, global vice president of Cocoa Enterprise at Mars Wrigley. 

“This partnership will bring further growth to our flagship project and bolster its climate change mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity enhancement, people well-being, and smallholder initiatives,” adds Xavier Sagnieres, 12Tree executive and Andean Cacao CEO. 

“We believe such a partnership can deliver revolutionary sustainable cocoa farming innovations thanks to knowledge sharing, collaboration to modernize agriculture practices, and joint efforts to create a sustainable value chain. We aim to scale a productive and profitable transformative model for growing cocoa while achieving positive environmental and social impact.”

Mars Wrigley sources from more than 13 countries to create the right mix of cocoa for the chocolate portfolio. 

This venture will continue to build on the company’s Cocoa for Generations strategy and initiatives across West Africa, Latin America, and Indonesia, and it will mobilize transformative investment for sustainable land use to continue the journey of reshaping the future supply chain to make sustainable cocoa a reality for the next generation, it says. 

Earlier this week, Mars and SwissDeCode teamed up to detect cocoa tree virus and boost sustainable cocoa farming.

Edited by Elizabeth Green