Ressources

Cocoa farmers face a huge number of challenges, but one lies at the root of many of them: most farmers’ incomes are simply too low. Estimates before the price of cocoa crashed between September 2016 and February 2017 suggested that the price cocoa farmers receive represents less than seven percent of the value of cocoa sold in Europe.

This article, published in the journal Sustainability, explores the social, economic and environmental effects of voluntary sustainability standards and corporate initiatives implemented by public-private-civil society partnerships in cocoa value chains.

This paper examines six common perceptions around unconditional cash transfer programming using evaluations from sub-Saharan Africa. It looks at the perception that transfers lead to higher alcohol or tobacco use, create dependency and are fiscally unsustainable.

This report presents a Living Income benchmark for cocoa-producing areas of Ghana. The benchmark was commissioned by the Living Income Community of Practice, which brings together sustainability standards systems, businesses, government bodies, NGOs, finance and producer groups to support activities focused on improving smallholder incomes, and enabling farmers to achieve a decent standard of living.

The Living Income Community of Practice, co-hosted by GIZ, ISEAL and the Sustainable Food Lab and the GIZ Programme “Sustainable Supply Chains and Standards” are currently calculating ‘Living Income’ Benchmarks for the cocoa-producing regions in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire.