In July, Stephanie Daniels, Senior Program Director of Agriculture and Development, facilitated a workshop with the leaders of Ghana’s cocoa sector and global chocolate industry on research to determine a Living Income Benchmark in cocoa growing regions of Ghana. The workshop was done in collaboration with the World Cocoa Foundation, GIZ and the Living Income Community of Practice. The research was co-funded by Cargill, Fairtrade, GIZ, Lindt Cocoa Foundation, Mars and Rainforest Alliance, in order to produce a credible, third party study to outline a roadmap for a Living Income Benchmark.
“If we were to do it alone as a company, it may not be seen as credible to external partners,” says Ywe Franken, Cargill cocoa sustainability expert. “It will help us track progress for the farmers we work with.”
Following the presentation of the benchmark, companies discussed how they can apply these learnings in their efforts to improve farmer income. The government bodies in Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana discussed their policies to improve farmer livelihoods. The process will be replicated in Cote d’Ivoire in September as part of the Living Income Community of Practice.
For the full article on the meeting including study results, click here.
