Côte d’Ivoire is the world’s greatest cocoa producer, exporting 1.5 million tonnes yearly . Farming cocoa beans performs an important function within the area’s financial system, contributing 15% of the nation’s GDP and using one-quarter of the inhabitants .
However agricultural enlargement has not been with out value, inflicting 25% of the nation’s major forest cowl to vanish between 2002 and 2019 .
Cocoa farmers’ pay has not mirrored their product’s reputation. Hundreds of thousands of those farmers don’t earn a dwelling revenue and, on common, earn simply 6% of the ultimate worth of a chocolate bar.
As a cocoa purchaser, Unilever desires to assist redress the stability. That’s why we’re working with companions on the bottom, supporting agroforestry programmes that empower farmers to make use of higher farming practices that profit folks and planet.
What’s agroforestry? Agroforestry is a approach of managing land use to extend manufacturing, by placing a number of crops, forest tree species and typically animals in the identical discipline. When the system is nicely designed, the crops can profit one another by offering shade and enhancing soil well being, whereas farming a number of commodities without delay may also help cut back the monetary threat of a single crop failing. Totally different tree species are wanted, relying on whether or not they’re being planted with arable crops, pasture or different present tree crops. Cocoa agroforestry techniques want bushes that present reasonable shade to guard youthful vegetation from excessive warmth, and which may cut back water loss. Many cocoa farmers use bananas and plantains as shade crops after which promote the fruit. Study extra about our Regenerative Agriculture Rules (PDF 8.34 MB)
Boosting cocoa provides by planting bushes
Our built-in agroforestry method helps to revive degraded land, improves forest cowl and promotes sustainable agriculture. It additionally will increase farmers’ consciousness of the challenges posed by deforestation and unsustainable agricultural practices.
The programme does this by offering instruments that can assist enhance famers’ livelihoods, equivalent to coaching on climate-smart agricultural practices. It additionally helps communities to develop their very own plant nurseries to domesticate tree seedlings, which the farmers then plant. They’ll select which kind of tree they need to plant, below steering from our native implementation companions. Totally different species present totally different advantages, from bushes that assist rebuild the forest cover (shade bushes) or restore soil via nitrogen provision (vegetation that produce peas, beans or lentils) to fruit bushes that present farmers with crops to eat or promote. Some even have cultural worth to native communities (neighborhood and ancestor forests).
Unilever agroforestry tasks have distributed greater than 286,277 bushes for farmers to plant. Every tree performs a job in creating and sustaining an ideal ecosystem, benefiting folks and the planet.
The advantages of agroforestry are wide-ranging. By supporting farmers to boost their revenue ranges and diversify their crops, this type of farming lessens the inducement for farmers to increase their farmland into forest areas. To make sure farmers have the proper incentives to put money into their farms, we’re additionally supporting farmers to safe rights to their land.
We’ve additionally been mapping our direct cocoa provide chain, along with our suppliers, to enhance traceability and higher perceive the place our cocoa comes from. And 96% of the farm plots in our direct sourcing have already been mapped to this point. These outcomes will allow us to higher outline deforestation threat and to establish points on the bottom that require remediation.
Our mixed method to supporting smallholder livelihoods and embedding sustainable farming practices will guarantee our suppliers – and due to this fact our enterprise – have entry to a sustainable provide of deforestation-free cocoa according to our objective within the Unilever Compass. At Unilever, we’re working in direction of a future the place deforestation-free is the one approach we function.
Our affect thus far We have now helped to: distribute and plant 286,277 multi-purpose bushes to 2,048 farmers to make use of on their farms
to to make use of on their farms prepare 16,808 farmers in climate-smart cocoa finest practices, equivalent to pure pest management strategies and common pruning
16,808 farmers in climate-smart cocoa finest practices, equivalent to pure pest management strategies and common pruning regenerate and restore 8,360 ha of forest and farms
Constructing resilience and supporting farmers
Megan Willis, Head of Sustainable Sourcing, Dwelling Earnings and Nature, explains. “Making certain we’ve a sustainable and deforestation-free provide chain means not simply defending the setting, but additionally supporting farmers to strengthen their livelihoods and proceed taking care of the land they work with,” she says.
Agroforestry is a vital a part of our method to cocoa sourcing that can assist Unilever construct a extra resilient cocoa provide chain, whereas benefiting smallholder farmers and nature. Megan Willis, Head of Sustainable Sourcing, Dwelling Earnings and NatureWe launched our Cocoa Remediation Programme in Côte d’Ivoire in 2021 as a part of our dedication to the Cocoa & Forests Initiative (CFI). Unilever is certainly one of 37 signatories who’re working alongside the CFI to assist finish deforestation and forest degradation within the cocoa provide chain, starting in Côte d’Ivoire. The programme, which continues to develop yearly, is predicted to profit 2,250 farmers in our provide chain and we’re on observe to satisfy our goal to distribute 400,000 bushes by finish of 2023.
Discover out extra about our work in direction of a deforestation-free provide chain