Barry Callebaut has sharpened its targets for Forever Chocolate, part of an overarching plan to make sustainable chocolate the norm and added additional targets to extend its impact beyond 2025.
First launched in 2016, the Forever Chocolate plan focuses on four pillars including prospering farmers; human rights; thriving nature and sustainable ingredients.
Prospering farmers looks to lift more than 500,000 cocoa farmers out of poverty, while human rights focuses on eradicating child labour from its supply chain. Thriving nature will focus on insetting CO2 emissions through agroforestry in a move away from offsetting, and sustainable ingredients will have 100% certified or verified cocoa by 2030.
“The requirements of a sustainable cocoa and chocolate supply chain are constantly evolving and transforming. Plus, since the start of Forever Chocolate, we continuously generated new insights through data analysis and engagement with experts,” said Steven Retzlaff, President Global Cocoa, Barry Callebaut. “We therefore wanted to add fresh ambition to our Forever Chocolate plan with more focus on impact on the ground beyond compliance, on supporting and empowering beyond training, and on a systemic approach beyond individual intervention. This is why we have sharpened our existing Forever Chocolate targets and added additional targets extending our impact beyond 2025.”
This comes after news of a release of the company’s report summarising its findings on cocoa farming in Côte d’Ivoire after six years of collaboration between Barry Callebaut, Agri-Logic, IDH and Rainforest Alliance.
The results of the Agri-Logic research will provide the foundation for Barry Callebaut’s strategy in supporting cocoa farmers in achieving higher cocoa yields, increased income and protecting the forests around cocoa farms.
Data and insights were collected from farmers on a range of topics including farm investment, household profile and environmental impacts. Data analysis shows that poverty reduction is driven by three key factors; yield, size of farm and price.
A major finding was that cocoa yield is affected by the location of the farm and investment. Farmers reporting the highest cocoa yield in farms are located in regions which received more rainfall compared with the region’s average. The level of farm investment into labour and input, such as soil management techniques, also impact cocoa yield.
The larger the farm doesn’t equate to increases in cocoa yield compared with smaller farms – findings show that it comes down to the level of investment.
“Farm investment is key. Roughly, a farmer on average will invest somewhere between $80 and $120 per hectare and that’s simply not enough,” explained Nicolas Mounard, VP Sustainability and Farming, Barry Callebaut. “With regards to farm size, bigger farm size matters, but a large farm only managed by the household without additional investment will not lead to higher yields and income.”
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