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New Effort to Help West African Cocoa Farmers, Families "Initiative for African Cocoa Communities" a Partnership for Positive, Meaningful ChangeMay 17, 2005 WASHINGTON, DC, USA (May 17, 2005) - A new public-private partnership will bring greater energy, ideas and resources to improving the lives of West African cocoa farming families and their communities. Developed under the leadership of the World Cocoa Foundation, the Initiative for African Cocoa Communities (IACC) is a significant expansion of the chocolate and cocoa industry's commitment to bring about positive, meaningful change in the West African cocoa farming sector. Cargill, The Hershey Company, Mars Incorporated and Nestle USA are providing support for the IACC, along with the Chocolate Manufacturers Association and the National Confectioners Association. The partnership was launched at an event hosted by the Africa Society of the National Summit on Africa in Washington, DC. "The future of the chocolate and cocoa industry is linked to the future of the cocoa farmer and the well-being of farming communities," said Bill Guyton, president of the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF). "The IACC furthers our support for the 10 million West Africans who depend upon cocoa for their livelihood." West Africa produces 70 percent of the world's cocoa: the crop is an engine for economic opportunity. In the Cote d'Ivoire, for example, cocoa provides more than 50 percent of household income for the five million people living on that country's 600,000 cocoa farms. Yet cocoa farmers face many challenges - severe (up to 100 percent) crop loss due to disease and pests; poor crop diversification; limited marketing systems, and other problems that impair their ability to make a livelihood from cocoa farming. Community issues like HIV/AIDS and access to education also impact the well-being of cocoa farming villages. The IACC brings together industry, farmer groups, NGOs, development groups and others committed to the future of West Africa. This public-private partnership approach is the basis for efforts already underway in the West African cocoa sector to help cocoa farmers and their families. The IACC will identify and develop new approaches to improving conditions in West African cocoa farming communities, while incorporating and strengthening current, industry-supported efforts. The IACC will support programs that:
Two partnerships in the area of education mark the first new IACC initiatives: Mars Incorporated, in collaboration with development organization Winrock International, is funding a program in the Cote d'Ivoire that will enhance educational opportunities for children living in cocoa farming communities. With the goal of sector-wide implementation, the initial two-year commitment will develop meaningful ways to keep children in school and gain needed life skills. Additional vocational activities will seek to foster environmental, social, and economic sustainability for cocoa farmers. Successes will be communicated to national and community based agencies to encourage large scale adoption of best practices - thus expanding the impact to the maximum number of families and children. The Hershey Company and the International Foundation for Education and Self-Help (IFESH) today announced a new effort to enhance education in West Africa by providing teacher training in the cocoa-growing regions of Ghana and the Ivory Coast. Hershey has committed funding for the first two years of the program, which is expected to benefit up to 40,000 primary and secondary school students each year. The effort is part of Hershey's ongoing commitment to raising incomes and improving the quality of life for cocoa farming families in West Africa. "Building stronger, more prosperous cocoa farming communities won't happen overnight," noted WCF President Guyton. "But with the vision and long-term commitment of the IACC's public and private sector partners, we can make a real difference." The article mentions that cocoa may contain these newly-identified compounds.
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