Solidaridad has nearly 20 years of experience working in the cocoa sector and is currently active in 13 producing countries. We have a strong presence in the field, working with tens of thousands of smallholder farmers in producing countries, including Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Peru, Brazil and Colombia. As cocoa is largely produced by smallholder farmers and workers, Solidaridad brings invaluable connections and expertise to the table.
Tackling challenges in cocoa supply chain
Supply chain stakeholders in cocoa are facing a number of prevalent sector challenges. It is key to address these in order to ensure a sustainable and smallholder-inclusive cocoa sector that benefits all stakeholders throughout the supply chain. These challenges include:
• Lack of direct connection with smallholder farmers, especially in the face of EU regulations, such as European Deforestation Regulation and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive.
• Complex relationships with local and national governments, which play a vital role in improving the situation of smallholder farmers.
• Cocoa prices are unprecedented due to failing harvests and fluctuating yields, resulting in global bean shortage.
• Climate change leads to poorer cocoa yields. Due to structural lack of investments, cocoa farms are hardly resilient to climate shocks.
Collaboration for sustainable cocoa
Solidaridad’s expertise and years of experience working in cocoa makes us a solid partner to tackle these issues in collaboration. We always consider a holistic approach and understand the challenges that smallholder farmers face, both in the short and long term. We actively engage with the private sector and governments and work jointly with supply chain stakeholders on turning the challenges into solutions. For example, as demands on companies to adopt more responsible purchasing practices are becoming increasingly more widespread, Solidaridad is a solid partner to work with on this matter.
The ultimate goal of our work is that smallholder farmers and workers have an improved position in the supply chain and benefit from their work and produce, and are enabled to earn a living income.
Find out more about our solutions and track record in cocoa here.