El cacao es un cultivo económicamente rentable que puede contribuir a la mejora de la calidad de vida de los pequeños productores que la cultivan. Asimismo, permite implementar sistemas de producción altamente sostenibles, contribuyendo a una agricultura diversificada y de bajo carbono.
Los pequeños agricultores sufren de una falta de conocimiento cuando se trata de prácticas agrícolas. No pueden acceder fácilmente a capacitaciones, mercados de venta, financiamiento o a los insumos adecuados para una buena producción.
El cacao se produce en algunos de los entorno más biodiversos del mundo, lo cual puede ayudar a conservar a las diferentes especies florales que existen, siempre y cuando el cacao sea producido de manera sostenible.
Since the start of our programme in 2007, significant progress has been made at the farmer level. However more needs to be done to make a real difference; many farmers still don’t see a future in cocoa farming.
Companies and governments are an integral part of sustainability in the cocoa industry. These entities can assist in increasing access, availability and affordability of inputs, knowledge and credit for sustainable cocoa.
La integración como proveedores de empresas en esquemas de certificación es una oportunidad para que puedan diversificar su ingreso. Adoptar variedades más adaptadas y buenas prácticas de manejo está ayudando al sector a recuperarse, pero aún es necesario aumentar la productividad y calidad para poder responder a la demanda creciente.
Para incrementar la producción de cacao en el Amazonas de forma sostenible, Solidaridad adopta un abordaje de desarrollo territorial articulando políticas públicas e inicitivas privadas. De acuerdo al Códifo Forestal de Brasil, el cultivo de cacao en el bioma amazónico sólo está permitido en zonas ya degradadas o previamente deforestadas. Esto evita talas y quemas y promueve la instauración de sistemas agro-forestales que combinan cacao y especies nativas. Los árboles de cacao proveen de sombra a las especies nativas y así la producción promueve la regenración de del paisaje, aumentando el secuestro de carbono.
Farmers with knowledge and skills – and access to credit and fertiliser – are three times as productive as their colleagues. This is not only good for farmers; it means that companies can also rely on a steady supply of good cocoa.
The cocoa sector contributes to the living and working conditions of farmers, farm workers and their families. Training farmers has resulted in a 28% increase in income in Ivory Coast and a 13% increase in Ghana. This has resulted in increased household security, with more money being spent on food, clothing, and education. Farmers in our programmes are organised, skilled and entrepreneurial. High yielding cocoa production systems enhance ecosystem services and improve local food security.
Female farmers have also benefitted from our programmes. In Ivory Coast, self-help groups where 600 women were trained on safe pesticide use, HIV/AIDS, water and sanitation use, and malaria prevention were organised. 30 women have also begun their own cocoa nurseries, selling 130,000 seedlings to achieve financial independence.
For years, governments, companies and Solidaridad have been investing in improving cocoa production. Thanks to public-private cooperation, about 20% of the 2.5 million cocoa farmers in West Africa now receive support with training and access to support.
Our Cocoa Improvement Programme has resulted in around 151,000 farmers being UTZ certified from 2008-2012. Here, as in all of our programmes, certification was used as a tool towards sustainability in combination with knowledge and local capacity building.
In Ghana, a programme driven by a public-private platform, and financed by the Dutch government, focuses on new delivery models. These Rural Service Delivery Centers centre on training, inputs and credit with a special emphasis on rehabilitation and intensification, all of which are necessary for long-term sustainability.
We also seek to involve industry participants in innovative ways. From 2013-2014, we ran a multimedia exhibit, ‘For the Love of Chocolate’, that shows the cocoa production process and how it can be improved.
This is how we help cocoa become sustainable.
