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Cargill Cocoa Committed to Sustainable Certification

Original Source: http://www.sustainablelifemedia.com
Author: Thomas Miner
Original Publication Date: May 12, 2010

May 12, 2010 – One of the world’s largest agricultural conglomerates followed through on its commitment to sustainable cocoa, paying over $400,000 in certification premiums to two farmer cooperatives in Cote d’Ivoire for the delivery of UTZ Certified sustainable cocoa beans over the past 9 months.

The UTZ CERTIFIED cocoa program was co-founded by Cargill and the Dutch development organization Solidaridad with the goal of providingindependent certification to farmers who improve agricultural, environmental and social practices in cocoa production. To support the local farmers in achieving these goals, Cargill launched a 10 month farmer training program, where the farmers are educated in good and safe practices focusing on farming techniques and post-harvest activities such as pruning, plantation renewal and cocoa fermentation methods. The program also stresses broader social aspects, such as the importance of ensuring children’s education and HIV awareness.

To continue to support cocoa farmers in Cote d’Ivoire, Cargill has made a commitment to train 10,000 farmers in 300 Farmer Field Schools across 35 cooperatives by the end of 2010. The Farmer Field Schools will enable cooperatives to become UTZ CERTIFIED, and this means that by the end of this year more than 10,000 tons of cocoa beans will be available for use in sustainably certified chocolate and cocoa products.

“We believe training farmers to increase yields, improve quality and adopt more sustainable practices can directly contribute to increased earnings for cocoa farmers,” said Harold Poelma, managing director of cocoa, Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate.”While increases for each farmer may vary depending on the market price, quality and yields, farmers who adopt better farming practices are benefitting from higher incomes, as well as improving their long-term success.”

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