The Fairtrade Foundation welcomes Nestle’s announcement that it has launched an ‘Income Accelerator’ which aims to tackle some of the most pressing issues associated with child labour on cocoa farms. This is a positive first step from one of the world’s largest buyers of cocoa on the path towards facilitating a sustainable living for cocoa farmers. We at Fairtrade see this move as one that vindicates our years of campaigning for the big global cocoa companies to do more for the farmers in their supply chains on whom they rely to grow cocoa beans, as data shows that any decision to directly increase the money paid to farming communities will significantly improve their livelihoods and their wellbeing.
For years, Fairtrade has advocated for better incomes through its Minimum Price and Premium, adopted by partners and supported by its many networks of grassroots campaigners, and so even as we welcome this announcement, we urge Nestle to go further by joining Fairtrade and like- minded partners such as Tony’s Chocolonely and Ben & Jerry’s in committing to paying higher prices for their cocoa, which in turn will accelerate farmers even faster towards a Living income.
Fundamentally cocoa farmers need to be sure that their buyers will commit to purchasing increased volumes of cocoa at a price that enables a living income, matching or ideally exceeding Fairtrade terms. And this income should come with no strings attached and reflect the true value of cocoa production by allowing farmers to use their earnings to tackle the problems they face every day, now and in the future. Paying living incomes must be a goal for the cocoa sector, and only then can we achieve an industry that is sustainable, equitable and fair, with decent livelihoods for farmers the standard and child labour consigned to the past.
Read more of the latest news and developments in our new edition here: February 2022 Single Issue form – International Confectionery Magazine (in-confectionery.com)
Media contact
Roshini Bains,
Editor, International Confectionery
Tel: +44 (0) 1622 823 922
Email: editor@in-confectionery.com
