Mondelēz signs deal with Côte d'Ivoire & Ghana deal to reduce cocoa deforestation

By Douglas Yu

- Last updated on GMT

Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana account for more than 60% of the world’s cocoa supply.  Photo: UTZ
Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana account for more than 60% of the world’s cocoa supply. Photo: UTZ

Related tags Cocoa life Agriculture

Mondelēz’s sustainability program, Cocoa Life, will collaborate with governments in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana to reduce deforestation in the cocoa supply chain.

Mondelēz said it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Côte d'Ivoire's Ministry of Environment as part of the country's REDD+ program.

It has also signed a letter of intent with the Forestry Commission of Ghana and the UN Development Program to establish a REDD+ partnership in Ghana to reach the deforestation reduction goal.

These two countries account for more than 60% of the world’s cocoa supply, but they recently have been affected by a sharp drop of cocoa prices, according to International Cocoa Initiative.

Deforestation reduction strategies

Upon the agreement, Cocoa Life and Côte d'Ivoire's Ministry of Environment will create a forest protection map, land use plan and tracking system to identify deforestation risks and opportunities to restore forest cover in the Nawa region, according to a release.

Cocoa Life will also promote agricultural practices to enable farmers to improve productivity, adopt agro-forestry systems and free up land for other crops or reforestation, the release said.

In Ghana, Cocoa Life is working to enhance farmers’ access to cocoa production technologies, Mondelēz’s spokesperson, Jane Corcoran, told ConfectioneryNews.

Mondelēz did not comment on its production volume and cocoa prices in these regions. But the executive director at UTZ Certified, Han de Groot, previously said the minimum cocoa prices in Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana are fixed by their governments, and they adjust them every few months based on the fluctuating global cocoa prices.

Corcoran said there is no time frame for Cocoa Life to reach its deforestation reduction goal, as deforestation and climate change are cross-cutting focus areas within the program.

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1 comment

The PRICE SETTING BY THE GOVERNMENT!!

Posted by Eric K. Meredith,

In Ghana the FARMER MUST sell to the GOVERNMENT or a LICENSED AGENT for the Government. The FARMER get approx ($0.70)U.S. Dollar per Pound or approx $100.00) U.S. Dollars per (65 KG) Bag of Cocoa Beans!! Plus the Farmer MUST pay & BUY each bag that they sell at almost ($2.50) U.S. Dollar per bag is how much the farmer is charged for the bag it MUST PURCHASE IN ORDER TO SELL their COCOA BEANS!! The price hasn't been changed for a while & not every couple of months!! The price in Ghana is FOUR HUNDRED SEVENTY FIVE (475.00) Ghana Cedis Per SIXTY FIVE (65 KG) Bag. Today the Ghana Cedis is (4.45) Ghana Cedis Per EVERY ($1.00) U.S. Dollar!!& a (65 KG) is approx ONE HUNDRED FORTY (140) pounds of COCOA BEANS per Bag!!

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