Nestle renews commitment to boost cocoa production

Nestlé Ghana, a multinational operating in Ghana has launched a program dubbed: Nestlé Cocoa Plan which is committed to a sustainable cocoa supply chain in the country.

This strategic plan is  part of the company's global efforts to support the lives of cocoa farmers and increase the quality of their crops. The project which  focuses on three main pillars was officially launched at the Golden Tulip Hotel in Accra.

They include enabling farmers to run profitable farms, through farmer training, distribution of a higher yielding cocoa

plants and rewards for good quality cocoa.
It also aims at improving social conditions, through the elimination of child labour and by focusing on women, children and their specific needs for education, health, and water.

The project also will focus on sourcing sustainable, good quality cocoa, by ensuring the long-term supply of good quality cocoa, increasing transparency in the supply chain and respecting the environment.

Nestlé Ghana has been closely working with the communities it sources cocoa from since 2009.

The company has trained over 9,000 farmers, built three schools and constructed eight boreholes benefitting 14,000 people in communities in the Eastern and Ashanti regions.

The company also built four Village Resource Centers, providing training facilities for local students and video training on best farming methods for cocoa farmers.

In October 2014, Nestlé announced the renewal of its long-standing collaboration with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), committing to contribute CHF5 million over five years to the organization. In the framework of the partnership, water access and hygiene projects will be extended to cocoa growing communities in Ghana.

The launch of the Plan in Ghana comes as a specific commitment of the company to the implementation of the “Cocoa Action”, an industry-wide strategy aiming to accelerate sustainability and improve the livelihoods of cocoa farmers in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire.

The Deputy Chief Executive of COCOBOD, Dr. Oppong, stated: "COCOBOD gives its support to industrial initiatives geared towards improving and sustaining the cocoa industry and recognizes the need to collaborate and coordinate efforts with the private sector to achieve success".

Moataz El Hout, Managing Director of Nestlé Ghana Ltd., said: “We believe collaboration with partners, a multi-stakeholder approach and transparency are critical to our long-term success and will benefit the communities we work with”.

In Ghana, the Nestlé Cocoa Plan is implemented in partnership with Source Trust, Armajaro (ECOMS) and Noble Resource.

The Nestlé Cocoa Plan is active in most major cocoa-growing countries, including Côte d'Ivoire, Brazil, Ecuador, Venezuela, Mexico, and Indonesia.

Nestlé has committed to source 120 000 tonnes  of cocoa through the Plan by 2016.