Improving The Lives of Cocoa Farmers

Help in the Field 

Cacao farming is a major source of income for millions of farm families around the world. These families often struggle, however, as they face such challenges as pests and disease that destroy almost one third of the crop each year.

The World Cocoa Foundation and its nearly 60 member companies, including The Hershey Company, actively work to help these farm families. The Foundation develops and manages effective, on-the-ground programs, raises funds and acts as a forum for broad discussion of the cocoa farming sector’s needs, bringing real benefits to farmers and their families.

World Cocoa Foundation projects currently underway focus on improving farm family incomes and productivity, conserving the tropical ecosystem, improving the quality of life for farm families (especially in terms of education and health), and ensuring that cocoa is grown responsibly.

Specialized Training

One very exciting effort is the Farmer Field School program, now in its fourth year in West Africa. Developed by the World Cocoa Foundation in conjunction with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Farmer Field Schools teach cocoa farmers how to increase productivity, reduce crop loss and costs, and diversify the cash and food crops they grow on the farm. These “schools without walls” have been conducted in the West African countries of Cameroon, Ghana, Cote d’ Ivoire, and Nigeria. Farmer Field Schools also have been conducted in such Asian countries as Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam, and in the Latin American country of Ecuador.  Approximately 200,000 cocoa farmers around the world have benefited from Farmer Field Schools and other World Cocoa Foundation programs.  An additional 150,000 farmers will be helped over the next five years, thanks to funding from The Hershey Company and other industry members.

The results are exciting. Farmer Field Schools, combined with a program developing and strengthening farmer cooperatives, have generated significant income increases.  In Cameroon, participating farm families saw their incomes increase by 55 % in 2004. Participating Ivory Coast farmers saw, on average, a 24 % income hike.

The Chocolate Manufacturers Association (CMA) and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) are launching Farmer Field Schools specifically tailored to the needs of female West African cocoa farmers – an increasingly important, yet often under-supported group. Farmer Field Schools also are expanding into more Latin American countries, including Bolivia, Colombia and Peru, thanks to the Foundation’s ACCESSO program.

Preserving the Tropical Environment

Farmer Field Schools teach cocoa farmers how to preserve the fragile tropical ecosystem through pest and disease control measures that protect the environment. Another environmental program, established through a partnership between the World Cocoa Foundation, the Sustainable Tree Crops Program, Conservation International, and the Danish Centre for Forest, Landscape and Planning, works with cocoa farmers to encourage planting of timber trees –providing an extra source of income, limiting soil erosion and discouraging the removal of established tropical trees.

More Teachers

Thanks to funding from The Hershey Company, the International Foundation for Education & Self-Help (IFESH) is training over 2,000 teachers and teachers-in-training at universities in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire. These teachers, in turn, will help address the cacao-growing region’s need for well-trained, competent teachers. The Hershey – IFESH program is expected to benefit approximately 40,000 primary and secondary school students.

Such efforts are improving the lives of the many smallholder farm families who grow this unique and very important crop.  Find out more about ongoing programs for cocoa farmers.