Callebaut expects farmers poverty in Cóte d´Ivoire remain a big problem

New study shows the road to make cocoa a sustainable and high yielding crop is still long. Even with the support of an increasing amount of sustainability projects, most cocoa farmers in Côte d’Ivoire still live far below the poverty line. A new study executed by the French Development Agency (AFD) and Barry-Callebaut, the world’s leading manufacturer of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products, estimates that cocoa farmers earn a roughly estimated 568 West African Franc (CFA) per day, approximately €0.86. This is the direct result of low cocoa yields, on average 435 kg/ha, on already relatively small cocoa farms. On top of that, many of the cocoa trees in Côte d’Ivoire are old and beyond their most fertile age. Plant diseases, such as stem borer, swollen shoots virus (CSSV) and mirid bugs add further to the low productivity. Get full access to the study: http://librairie.afd.fr/nt24-cocoa-farmers-cote-ivoire/