‘Chocolate bonus’ for cocoa farmers helps with living income struggle

In its latest Cacao-Trace sustainable cocoa programme annual report, the Puratos company claims to be on track to achieve its goal of helping farmers earn a living income.

The report highlights milestone achievements in 2023, and progress in the journey to improve sustainability across the chocolate and cocoa-based product chain.

In 2023, the Cacao-Trace programme collected a €2.4 million ($2.58m) Chocolate Bonus, which will be shared with farming communities in 2024 – either as cash donations or via community projects.

High-quality chocolate

The Chocolate Bonus, which corresponds to a 0.10€ (10 cents) bonus for every kg of high-quality chocolate sold to Cacao-Trace customers, directly benefits the growers of Cacao-Trace high-standard cocoa beans.

Over the past year, the Chocolate Bonus continued to strengthen community projects in Côte d’Ivoire, Papua New Guinea and Uganda, and for the first time in 2023, Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Aimed at supporting local cocoa farming communities through improved income, better education and healthcare facilities, the Cacao-Trace programme provided 46 essential pieces of water equipment. It contributed to the construction and renovation of twelve primary school projects across these regions. 

“The Chocolate Bonus is one of the cornerstones of our Cacao-Trace programme, so being able to increase the amount collected every year has had an enormous impact on the communities where we operate,” says Youri Dumont, director of the chocolate business unit at Puratos.

“We’re dedicated to ensuring a long-term positive effect, a proportion of the Chocolate Bonus is allocated to the maintenance of projects, to help future generations benefit from investments in education and health infrastructures as well. Thanks to the increase in Chocolate Bonus last year, along with other crucial Cacao-Trace initiatives, we’re absolutely on track to reach our 2030 goals.”