Olam joins International Cocoa Initiative to fight child labor

Related tags International cocoa initiative Ghana Côte d'ivoire Cocoa bean

Around 1.8m kids were working on cocoa farms in 2007/08. Photo Credit: ICI
Around 1.8m kids were working on cocoa farms in 2007/08. Photo Credit: ICI
Commodities trader Olam has joined the International Cocoa Initiative (ICI) to help address child and forced labor in cocoa growing countries.

Olam will act as a contributing member to the ICI’s program that protect children in cocoa growing communities by strengthening monitoring and supporting the Ivorian and Ghanaian governments.

Alain Fredericq, Senior Vice President Industrial Cocoa Ingredients at Olam, said “This partnership with the International Cocoa Initiative gives us the chance to further our efforts in eliminating the worst forms of child labour in the cocoa supply chain.”

Almost 820,000 children in the Ivory Coast and over 997,000 kids in Ghana were found to be working on cocoa-related activities in 2007/2008, according to Tulane University.

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1 comment

A bit late don't you think?

Posted by Sacha de Beer,

Why does a significant player as Olam join now? As the problems have been present in the sector for longer than today, and ICI excists for quite some time now.

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