ZURICH, SWITZERLAND--(Marketwire - Jul 27, 2012) - Cocoa Horizons initiative accelerates
sustainable cocoa production
* More than 15,000 cocoa farmers trained in Good Agricultural Practices
(GAP)
* All cocoa-growing regions in Côte d'Ivoire are represented
* Farmers earn a premium for Rainforest Alliance certified cocoa
Barry Callebaut, the world's leading
manufacturer of high-quality cocoa and chocolate products, has trained 15,000
cocoa farmers from 50 farmer cooperatives in Côte d'Ivoire in sustainable
cocoa
production, enabling them to become independently certified by Rainforest
Alliance. The cooperatives are located throughout Côte d'Ivoire's cocoa
production belt, with the majority located in Bas-Sassandra, the country's
biggest cocoa-producing region today.
Barry Callebaut pays the cooperatives a premium for the certified beans.
Participating farmers receive half of the premium with the other half retained
by the cooperative and used to provide services to its farmer members or for
community facilities.
"We see great potential for more farmers to participate in certification
training activities -- including existing coop members as well as potential
new
members -- once they see how their neighbors' efforts pay off," said Anke
Massart, Project Manager Cocoa Horizons in Côte d'Ivoire. "Farms are more
productive, families are healthier because of the focus on safety and farmers
earn a premium for their certified beans. Plus, Barry Callebaut, with its
years
of engagement with farmers in the region, is a reliable and long-term partner
for coops who are making the commitment to grow cocoa in a sustainable way."
Barry Callebaut's in-house certification team, based in Côte d'Ivoire,
provides
training in Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and support in setting up
internal
control systems to help farmers and coop managers meet the environmental,
social
and economic criteria of Rainforest Alliance, an independent sustainability
certification system for cocoa.
"We applaud the participating farmers on their achievements and commend the
efforts of Barry Callebaut to train and provide support to the farmers and
farmer organizations in Côte d'Ivoire who have embarked on the journey
towards
sustainable cocoa production," said Elizabeth T. Kennedy, Director, Evaluation
and Research, Rainforest Alliance. "Research demonstrates that Rainforest
Alliance certification has improved the livelihoods, communities and
environments of cocoa farmers, and we are delighted to be working in
partnership
with Barry Callebaut on these efforts."
Recent studies commissioned by Rainforest Alliance and conducted by the
Committee on Sustainability Assessment (COSA) have shown that certified cocoa
farms in Côte d'Ivoire produced more cocoa per hectare compared with
non-certified farms, while the costs of inputs such as labor, biocides and
processing were roughly the same. Higher yields resulted in certified farmers
earning higher net income - defined as a farm's revenue from cocoa sales minus
the costs of inputs - and applied more water protection measures and more soil
conservation practices compared with farmers who were not certified.
COSA is a non-profit global consortium of institutions that uses an
independent
monitoring tool to analyze the social, environmental and economic impacts of
agricultural practices.
Cocoa Horizons is Barry Callebaut's ambitious CHF 40 million cocoa
sustainability initiative, designed to boost farm productivity, increase
quality
and improve family livelihoods in key cocoa producing countries in West and
Central Africa, Indonesia and Brazil over the next 10 years.
***
Barry Callebaut (http://www.barry-callebaut.com/):
With annual sales of about CHF 4.6 billion (EUR 3.6 billion/USD 5.0 billion)
for
fiscal year 2010/11, Zurich-based Barry Callebaut is the world's leading
manufacturer of high-quality cocoa and chocolate - from the cocoa bean to the
finished chocolate product. Barry Callebaut is present in 27 countries,
operates
around 40 production facilities and employs a diverse and dedicated workforce
of
about 6,000 people. Barry Callebaut serves the entire food industry focusing
on
industrial food manufacturers, artisans and professional users of chocolate
(such as chocolatiers, pastry chefs or bakers), the latter with its two global
brands Callebaut(®) and Cacao Barry(®). Barry Callebaut is the
global leader in
cocoa and chocolate innovations and provides a comprehensive range of services
in the fields of product development, processing, training and marketing. Cost
leadership is another important reason why global as well as local food
manufacturers work together with Barry Callebaut. Through its broad range of
sustainability initiatives and research activities, the company works with
farmers, farmer organizations and other partners to help ensure future
supplies
of cocoa and improve farmer livelihoods.
***
The complete news release can be downloaded from the following link:
Press Release (PDF):
http://hugin.info/100441/R/1629342/522022.pdf
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originality of the information contained therein.
Source: Barry Callebaut AG via Thomson Reuters ONE
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